Artfully Shattered
by RyoushintekiAikou
Summary: High school can be rough. Especially for Sasori and Deidara. SasoDei, ItaKisa, and tons more implied pairings. Rated T for safety. Romance and tragedy.
1. Chapter 1

**ARTFULLY SHATTERED**

_**A Naruto Fanfiction story**_

**I own nothing but Izaki Mukura and the made-up Mukura clan. This is in no way associated with the anime at all nor with any events in the anime. This story is purely fan made for my, and others, amusement. As well as my due respect to the original Naruto creators for allowing the randomocity of these stories. Also, Izaki is based off of a real life person; myself. This is dedicated to Sasori-sama, my good friend who supports my story, Hannah, and finally Kari who are two of my very good friends who have managed to hang in with my Naruto obsession. Without you I wouldn't be comfortable with writing SasoDei or even writing an insanely long fanfiction story like this. Love you all so much.**

Izaki sighed as she pulled her long, silky ebony hair back into a low, loose ponytail. Her sister stood in her doorway, chattering away; completely oblivious that Izaki didn't care at all to what she was saying. Finally Izaki pulled her messenger bag off the side table in her bedroom and walked out her door.

"Come on, Mizuki, we're going to be late if you don't be quiet and come," sighed the exasperated girl. Her sister sprang to life and darted off to the front door, golden blonde hair streaming out behind her. Mizuki's emerald eyes danced with mischief.

"Meet you there, Izaki!" she laughed as she darted out the front door. Her bag banged against her hip as her feet slapped the uneven dusty road. Izaki chuckled to herself lightly.

"Don't trip and hurt yourself!" she called forwards. Mentally she laughed whole-heartedly. The last time Mizuki had been in a hurry like now she'd tripped and fallen on her face. She'd had to go home to change and Izaki was late because she'd had to help clean up Mizuki.

"I won't!" Izaki just shook her head and sighed as she walked alone now. All the houses here were different. Izaki lived in the upper-class part of Konoha. The houses there were more like extravagant mansions. There were few families living there that actually went to Konoha High School. Such as the Hyuuga's, a transfer student from Iwa named Deidara, the Uchiha's, and the Mukura's.

She wasn't exactly paying attention so when someone called out to herself she stopped dead in her tracks several moments after the call. She glanced over her shoulder and then broke into a full run. Izaki didn't want to be rude, but she couldn't stand having to listen to the most popular guy in Junior year rant about all the girls he had. She stumbled and a pair of strong arms caught her.

"Hey, watch where you're going, yeah. You could hurt yourself," a voice said. Izaki glanced up into a lone, piercing blue eye. Long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail with part of his bangs covering his left eye where he had a metallic eye put in because of an accident he'd been in.

"Oh, sorry, Deidara…I wasn't paying attention and was trying to get away from Itachi," she sighed. The Iwa student shrugged and helped her back onto her feet.

"Itachi is a pain in the ass, yeah," he said bluntly. A dark shadow fell over the two and Izaki didn't even have to look up to know who was there. She could feel the coal black eyes burning into her now.

"Deidara, I wouldn't talk about other people like that or it may come back and hurt you," a strong voice said. The blonde looked up slowly, not wanting to see the anger written on the face above him. Faded black locks were pulled back in a low ponytail with two parts hanging next to his sculpted face and midnight eyes contrasted with pale skin.

"Uhm…yeah…" Deidara tried to scamper off but Itachi grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him up.

"I'm going to show your little _girlfriend_ here what happens when you talk about me behind my back!" snapped Itachi harshly. Deidara visibly struggled against the vice-like grip.

"She's not my girlfriend, yeah! She's just my friend!" he cried out. Itachi chuckled.

"That's not what I gathered. I see you two every day…together…hanging out with that puppet _freak_…" Itachi told him. There was clear malice to his tone. Then he lifted Deidara high in the air and with much strength threw him down to the ground with a hard thud. Izaki glared at him coldly.

"You don't own me. You can't decide my friends for me." Then she knelt down and helped up Deidara. Itachi watched them quietly. Deidara was clutching at his back in pain.

"I think it's bruised, yeah, but Sasori is probably wondering where the hell we are, yeah," Deidara sighed. Izaki nodded and brushed off his back gently. The dirt was an ugly contrast to his loose black shirt.

"Let's go." Then Izaki turned off with Deidara and walked away from Itachi whose eyes followed them every step of the way.

- - - - - - - - -

Sasori tapped his fingers nervously against the chipping wood railing of his small porch. He glanced inside. Grandma Chiyo was still sitting in her plush armchair that she'd had for years, watching both him and her daily programs carefully. He settled his head on the forearm of the arm that was resting on the railing. His green eyes watched every person passing by his house. None of them were Deidara and Izaki. Only that snobby girl Ino, her best friend Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Choji, Shikamaru, those rich kids Hinata and Neji, Itachi Uchiha and his crowd of drooling fan girls, and many more. He blew pointlessly at the maroon hair that was falling into his line of vision. His books rested on the chair nearby him.

"Hey, Sasori, you gonna sulk there all day or are you going to school with us, yeah?" The familiar voice cut through his thoughts of despair and he jumped up to grab his books.

"I thought you were never coming…" he sighed. His too-big brown sweatshirt and baggy jeans hung on his frame loosely as he leaned over to get his books. He turned to his friends and surveyed their attire with some envy. Deidara wore a loose-fitting black t-shirt over jeans and black sneakers. Izaki wore a fitting ebony shirt over dark baggy pants with chains on them and fishnet gloves. The natural black eyeliner adorned her eyes as well as the heavy dark purple eye shadow.

"Yeah, well, we got held up by someone with a stick up his ass too far," Izaki sighed. Sasori grinned slightly at this and Deidara snorted with laughter.

"Hmm…Itachi?" guessed Sasori with feigned stupidity. The trio laughed as they headed off to school.

- - - - - - - - -

"Hey Sasori!" a girl's voice called over to the red-head. Sasori didn't even have to turn around to know it was that middle class snob Ino.

"What do you want?" the red-headed teen sighed. Deidara had stopped walking and was waiting for him. Several students bumped into him but he just snapped harshly at them telling them to watch where they were going.

"I heard you came from Suna…but where are your parents?" the girl asked with a smirk.

"They're dead," Sasori answered quietly. Deidara recognized the tone and immediately stepped in. His lone eye was blazing and it looked like he was about to bash Ino's smirking face in.

"Leave him alone, yeah," snapped the boy. "Or I'll slap you, yeah…" Deidara had an endless reputation for disregarding rules and breaking them without care. Sasori glanced at his infuriated friend and saw he was not joking. He'd really do that…all because Ino had talked about his parents whom he disliked talking about…

"Ass hole…" Ino grumbled before she stalked off. Deidara cursed her under his breath.

"Come on…" Deidara finally said with forced calm. Silently they entered the chaotic halls of Konoha High.

There was the pungent smell of sweat, hundreds of perfumes, deodorant, and cologne all together in the halls. One had to take special care not to get hit with random flying objects. Everyone got jostled, shoved, and stepped on in the hallway. Deidara, Sasori, and Izaki all wove their way through the crowd to their clocker which all were aligned next to each other. To the trios dismay a certain Itachi Uchiha was lounging against their lockers.

When they saw him and he saw them the temperature seemed to drop from sixty-five to negative twenty-five. For a moment, everything seemed to have quieted down around them. Eyes locked and daggers seemed to fly between them.

"Move, yeah, you're leaning against our lockers," Deidara finally said. Itachi regarded him with a cold stare.

"No, I will not move," Itachi answered rudely. He smirked at Deidara's reaction which was the blonde gritting his teeth in frustration and clenching and unclenching his fists. It was Sasori who spoke next.

"Look, just please move, it's not that hard. You just step over to the side a bit…" Sasori told him calmly.

"If I won't move for Blondie over there—" Deidara gaped at him. "—then why would I for you, freak?" Recovering, the Iwa student glared fiercely at Itachi.

"Don't call Sasori a freak, yeah!" he snapped. Izaki glanced at them with unnatural violet irises. When she spoke, her tone dripped ice.

"You have no right to insult my friends," she said. "And furthermore I'll report you to Principle Tsunade for stalking me around school without my permission and tell her how it much it seriously scares me sometimes." Sasori stared at her in wonder. Deidara's lone eye blinked slowly, completely processing her words.

"It's a free country, I can say what I want," Itachi muttered. Then he pushed himself off and disappeared into the slowly thinning crowd. All three breathed deep sighs of relief.

Wordlessly they gathered their books from their lockers and hurried off to English with Mr. Umino, or Iruka, as they called him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Today's lesson is about how writing can be art and then you're going to have to pair up to write about it," Mr. Umino announced. There were a few scattered groans that were ignored completely. There were some eager people, but many appeared very bored. Izaki, Deidara, and Sasori were absorbed in what the teacher was saying the second he uttered the word 'art'.

The rest of the class passed by quickly with the lecture and soon the bell was calling shrilly for class changes. The trio didn't even have to say a word to know they were of to History class with Mr. Hatake. It was more of a free period, though, due to the fact Mr. Hatake spent all his time reading his 'book'. The skinny paperback contained explicit adult content, as all the students knew because he'd told them in advance in case they ever tried to take a peek.

Once inside the classroom several students pulled out music devices and started listening. Other students talked amongst themselves quietly as not to interrupt any other conversations or cause anyone outside the room to know they were not being taught. Everyone very much appreciated this free time. Deidara, Sasori, and Izaki took seats closer to the back where it was quieter.

"So, how'd you do last night with that sketch I saw you working on yesterday, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"My sister set it on fire." Sasori stared at her and then locked eyes with Deidara. A silent message passed between them.

"Your sister is crazy, yeah. And she doesn't know what art is," stated Deidara. Sasori nodded slightly in agreement.

"Did you do any clay work last night?" Sasori asked Deidara. The blonde shrugged slightly.

"Made a dove last night, yeah…" he admitted. Then they heard approaching footsteps. Looking up slowly the three saw the unnaturally blue tinted skin of Kisame and the coal black eyes of Itachi. Hoshigake Kisame was an outrageous six foot four and growing with messy indigo hair and shark-like eyes.

"What do you want?" Izaki asked coldly. Deidara and Sasori glared at the two with clear dislike. Kisame and Itachi were two of the most popular guys in the entire Konoha High and had endless records of having one-night stands with almost every single girl in their grade including Freshman, Sophomore, and Senior girls. There were few girls who didn't see Itachi and Kisame as, well, _hot_.

"What? We can't have civilized conversations like everyone else around here?" inquired Kisame calmly. The three stared at the pair of them.

"No, not really, yeah," answered Deidara.

"Shut up," Itachi stated.

"Don't say shut up to my best friend," Sasori snapped. His eyes were flashing dangerously at the moment.

"How 'bout you shut up?" Kisame interrupted.

"Now you don't say that to my friends! You should shut up," Izaki snarled. Everyone turned to stare at her. Izaki's usual purple eyes were now blood red with fury. Deidara and Sasori knew one of the girl's secrets that no one really bothered to notice. Her eyes changed colors depending on her mood. A birth defect or something, she'd told them.

"Don't tell us to shut up, punk," hissed Kisame, all courtesy from before gone. Itachi just stared at the group as if they were insane.

"Then don't call my friends names and I won't have to!" Izaki retorted quickly.

"Izaki…?" Sasori spoke up softly. The girl turned to him, all red gone from her eyes. Now they'd returned to their normal endless violet depths. Sasori shuffled his feet slightly on the floor and stared down at them.

"What is it Sasori?" questioned Izaki. The red-head looked up slowly.

"Can we go somewhere else…like I want to…talk to you…?" Sasori said softly. Kisame snickered and Itachi just stared blankly at them. Deidara gaped at the two.

"What?? And leave me here with dumb and dumber, yeah??" he demanded crossly.

"Hey, we're standing right here!!" grumbled the blue-skinned teen. Deidara stared at him.

"Do I care, yeah?" There was no reply to that. "I'm going to the bathroom, yeah." Then he stood and left with Izaki and Sasori in tow. The black-haired girl and Sasori went off into the empty bleachers outside around the football field. She folded her arms and stared into space for a moment before speaking.

"What is it, Sasori?" The boy bit his lip and stared at the litter under the bleachers. He knew what he was about to ask was completely personal…

"Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend?" he blurted out. Izaki stared at him for a second with unblinking eyes.

"Yes, I have, but I didn't want to trash the friendship. Turns out, on his deathbed, he told me he loved me so much but he couldn't stand to ruin what we had already," she admitted softly. Sasori nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry to hear that about your friend…" he told her. Izaki shrugged her pale shoulders slightly.

"I don't really find pain from it anymore." Then both went totally quiet and let the wind blow to fill the silence. Neither spoke for what seemed like the longest time, just watching the trees sway in the wind across from the field…

"Izaki…I wanted to tell you first because…well…" Sasori stammered.

"Sasori, whatever it is I won't hate you and you'll still be my friend afterwards," she stated honestly. Sasori nodded his head vigorously, unruly maroon hair falling into his deep green eyes,

"Izaki I'm more attracted to guys than girls. I'm gay." Izaki was stunned. She'd seen this coming because of how Sasori acted around guys rather than girls. But still… "And…"

"Sasori, I'm okay with that. It doesn't bother me at all. I promise."

"…and I love Deidara…" Silence greeted this comment wholeheartedly. Izaki was now completely dazed at this point. Slowly the information ran through her head. And then she got it completely.

"You don't want to ruin the friendship you already have with him," Izaki concluded quietly. Sasori nodded slightly, blushed, and stared down at his feet.

"Yeah, that's exactly it… I knew you'd understand… But…what do I do?" His friend turned to stare at him through serene light blue eyes.

"You don't worry, ok?"

"…alright…"

- - - - - - - - -

Deidara was just approaching the football field when he saw Sasori run off. Curiously he approached Izaki who was still sitting where his other friend had left her. His blonde hair was stirred slightly with the passing breeze. Upon reaching the bleachers he climbed up to her. With a grunt he sat down next to her and crossed his legs.

"What'd he say, yeah?" Izaki glanced at him through amethyst adorned eyes.

"Stuff…listen, this is so weird, but—" Then she didn't have to ask him at all. The jock group of Konoha High had just waltzed onto the field and were pointing and jeering at Deidara. Then one of them called up to Deidara.

"Hey, kid, guess what?! I bet your mom ran away the second she found out she birthed a gay—" Deidara stood and shouted back at them.

"HEY GUESS WHAT YOURSELF, YEAH! IT'S CALLED BEING BI! AND I'M PROUD OF IT, YEAH!" he yelled with a smirk. Then he grabbed Izaki's hand.

"…what…?"

"Let's go find Sasori, yeah!" Then he dragged her off in the direction Sasori had gone. Izaki just went along with it. It seriously occurred to her his intentions were different when he leaned against a nearby tree and ran a hand through his thick, silken blonde hair.

"Izaki, can I ask you a personal question?" he finally sighed. Izaki sighed and nodded.

"I guess so since no one really cares about my private secrets…ask away."

"Do you like Sasori?" Izaki just stared for about a full minute. Her eyes went from violet, to yellow, and to sky blue. She smiled slightly at him.

"We're more like brother and sister," she finally answered him. Deidara's single cyan eye stared down at her for a moment.

"That's good, yeah…"

"I don't think you want me to ask why."

"No, yeah…I don't…"

- - - - - - - - -

School finished completely uneventful the rest of the day. Deidara and Sasori seemed distant from each other and Izaki felt like she was stuck in the middle of it all. At the end of school she packed away her books and waited for the two boys. They came some time after, not even daring to look at each other. Izaki's eyes flashed a deep blue with her concerns but neither seemed to notice.

On the way home Izaki finally gave up on silence and put in her iPod. Hitting play the guitar strums of Relient K's 'Who I Am Hates Who I've Been' started to echo in her ears. She had the earphones, though, with only one in so she could still hear if someone said something directed to her. Quietly she hummed to the music as they walked along. Finally, Deidara spoke.

"Izaki, we all know you can sing hellishly good at singing so just sing," he sighed. The black-haired girl shrugged.

"I watched the proverbial sunrise coming up over the Pacific end; you might think I'm losing my mind. But I will shy away from the specifics…" Izaki sang softly. Sasori stared at his shoes which were raising small puffs of dust around them. Deidara stared into space, listening to the sound if Izaki's voice. Then they heard footsteps approaching slowly behind them. They had a few options of who it could be behind them; the Hyuugas, the Uchihas, or some random stalker who they didn't know. Finally they turned around to come face to face with Itachi and Kisame.

"STALKERS, YEAH!" yelled Deidara in hysterics. Sasori glanced in alarm at his friend in shock. Deidara never lost his cool, even in the worst situations.

"Why would stalk you losers?!" Kisame spat back.

"Leave us alone!" Deidara turned to stare at Sasori who'd spoken the last words. Itachi wasted no time in striding forward and hauling him up so he was glaring directly into Sasori's green eyes. Deidara shot a helpless glance at Izaki.

"Listen to me you _freak_ you do _not_ tell _us_ what to do, got that? Cause I'm about to teach you a lesson you'll never forget," Itachi snarled. With that he threw Sasori on the ground and raised his foot to impale the boys face.

"Stop it!" It was Izaki who spoke. "What has he ever done to you?" The next second she was kneeling on the ground holding Sasori and checking to make sure he was alright. Her eyes were flashing dangerously red.

"It's basically the fact he exists and dares to talk back to us," Kisame replied. "And the fact he's a freak."

"So loving art and having a passion for different forms of art makes you a freak?" Izaki's tone was shaking at this point. "Then Deidara and I both are freaks with Sasori." She helped Sasori up. "Let's go walk Sasori home." With no last glance they walked away and were gone.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sasori got home it was several minutes past when he'd told Grandma Chiyo he'd be home. As their footsteps thudded down on the porch the front door was flung open, revealing a worried old woman with graying hair and stormy grey eyes. When she saw Sasori she flung her arms around the young boy and held him tight to her body.

"Goodness, boy, I thought you got mugged on your way home!" she exclaimed. Sasori rested his head on her shoulder for a moment before pulling away and smiling weakly at her.

"Well the equivalent of it, at least," he chuckled softly.

"Who did it?"

"Grandma Chiyo it's nothing…"

"Who has done it, Sasori Akasuna?" There was dead silence after that. Both of them seemed to have forgotten that Izaki and Deidara were standing right there on the porch listening to every word being exchanged.

"Some of the really popular kids…"

"Those two called Kisame and Itachi?"

"Yeah, those two were the ones."

"I might tell your principle…"

"No, please don't…"

"Alright, Sasori, I trust you enough to take care of yourself." Her eyes snapped back to the two guests standing near them. "And I expect you two to take care of him." She didn't even need to add the 'or else' to that sentence. Despite the fact Sasori's guardian was an old lady she was still fit as ever and could win a few fights here and there still. Deidara nodded his head firmly in recognition of her words. Izaki merely pursed her lips together and nodded slightly.

"Of course," Izaki said.

"Don't worry, yeah, we'll take good care of him." Under Chiyo's breath so no one but Izaki heard she whispered:

"I can't do anything but worry." The words were so soft it was like the whisper of the wind passing by. The two waved goodbye to Sasori and told him they'd see him on Monday, not thinking if their weekend plans would intertwine or not. Then he ducked inside to do his long-delayed homework for after the weekend. Just as Izaki was heading down the steps of the porch Chiyo reached out and caught her arm.

"You're one of the closest things to a sister Sasori has ever had, I know you'll watch him like a hawk. I don't know about Deidara, he seems to see Sasori differently than anyone else. Protect Sasori with your life if you have to…please…" Chiyo begged softly.

"Of course I will." Chiyo nodded and headed inside.

"Come on Izaki!" called Deidara. Izaki tore her gaze from where Chiyo had just been and followed Deidara back into their neighborhood and parted their separate ways to meet again Monday.

- - - - - - - - -

"Open up, yeah! I know it's Saturday but seriously, yeah!" demanded Deidara. Izaki was sitting at her desk checking her e-mail when she heard the blonde insisting on entrance to her room. She groaned and minimized the browser. To the site she was online role-playing pirates on she told them she'd be right back due to real life 'issues'. Though Izaki would never tell anyone she loved role-playing with all her heart as well as writing. She didn't mind it if anyone ever found out. It was just who she was. Upon reaching the door she flung it open to reveal a disheveled Deidara.

"Okay, okay I'm here! Jeez, what do you want on this day and hour?" Checking the clock she saw it was eleven PM at night. She cringed inwardly. She'd been on her way to bed when she realized she had insomnia and went to role-play it off. At this moment Izaki was wearing an oversized black t-shirt over crimson sleep pants.

"Izaki I…I'm sorry, yeah, about disturbing you… But I was wondering if you wanted to accompany Sasori and me to the, uh, movie we're going to together, yeah, on a…" he didn't even finish the sentence for Izaki to get what he meant.

"You asked him…"

"…yeah…"

"To a movie with you…?"

"…yeah…"

"What time?"

"Midnight showing…"

"DEIDARA, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING??" Instinctively the blonde held up his hands to shield himself from anything that might be thrown at him for telling her the time for the showing. It was the only time he could see the movie he wanted without having his job getting in the way.

"I'm sorry, yeah! I really am! But it was the only way…yeah…" Izaki rubbed her eyes grudgingly. She made a mental note to make the blonde owe her one for this. She had work tomorrow as a waitress at _Revolution_ tomorrow at five AM. _Revolution_ was a hot club for teens to hang out together.

"I have work tomorrow at five AM, when does it end?"

"…three AM, yeah…" Two hours to sleep. Oh how peachy for her…

"Fine then, I'll go get ready." Deidara threw his arms around her and grinned ear to ear.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH IZAKI, YEAH!" She found she couldn't breathe in the bone-crushing embrace.

"Y-you're welcome, Deidara…" she choked out. The blonde let go, still beaming.

"I'll leave you to get ready! I'll pick you up at eleven thirty!" he sang out. Then he ran out the front door. Rubbing her temples and reminding herself to get Advil on the way back she disappeared into her room.

Around thirty minutes later she walked out of her bedroom/bathroom combination room fully dressed in her Gothic attire and make-up. She fumbled with her necklace before getting it on completely. She stopped to examine herself in the full-length mirror. Black flats with baggy pants the same color with turquoise stitching and chains on them and a deep grey t-shirt with the words sported in Chiller font 'LOVE IS DEAD' and a broken heart under it adorned her slim form. Around her neck was an amethyst tear-drop pendant on a silver chain, a gift from her mother. Her hair was loose and hung around her face.

Stepping out of her room she yelled out, "I'M GOING OUT, WHOEVER CARES!" Then she grabbed her house key, wallet, and cell phone before closing the oak front door after her. She breathed in the crisp night air with some relief. Although Izaki was sixteen she hardly drove anywhere. Deidara, though, used it to his full advantage.

"HEY, IZAKI!" said-person called over enthusiastically. Izaki just smiled slightly and climbed in the back bench by herself. Sasori sat in the front seat quiet yet quivering with excitement.

"Thanks for coming," Sasori finally said. Izaki shrugged slightly.

"It was no problem for me…"

"Oh? I thought you have to work at five in the morning tomorrow?"

"…yeah…I do…" Deidara started the car and drove off with the engine roaring, tearing through the night silence.

"It's going to be really fun, yeah, it's a horror film with puppets," he explained to Izaki cheerfully. "And there's tons of stuff exploding too, yeah…" The girl in the back seat suddenly felt sick. Despite her tolerance for blood and gore being high she was never into scary movies. Izaki wasn't one to just randomly blurt this out, though, so no one really knew that about her.

"That's, uh, great…" she stammered with a small smile.

"I knew you'd love it, yeah, and the same with Sasori," Deidara announced with a huge smile.

"Puppets, Izaki! Can you believe it??" Sasori said happily. Izaki stared down at her hands in the dark of the car and prayed silently she'd be alright during the film. All too soon the car swung into the parking lot of the movie theater and the group got out. Deidara paid for the tickets and wouldn't even listen to his friends offers to pay for their own tickets. Then he dragged them into the theater and sat down in a row closer to the back. Soon enough, the film was rolling.

- - - - - - - - -

Sasori mostly clung to Deidara when things got too scary for him. Such as when the killer puppet jumped out of the closet in front of the teenage girl, seemingly harmless, and then when it turned its head to her its face was completely covered in blood and it was holding a dagger. Then it killed her. When the girl screamed in fright Sasori squeaked softly and clung harder to the blonde.

When the movie ended the trio stood up and stretched their cramped muscles. The movie had run for about three and a half hours and now the credits were rolling. Wordlessly they exited the theater and out the front doors into the cool night air outside. The sky was just starting to lose some of the black stretched across the sky into a light blue. Izaki inwardly sighed. She now had one hour of sleep and one hour to get ready and go.

"That was a fun movie, yeah," Deidara stated. "But I noticed Izaki was shaking a lot, yeah. Do you not like scary movies?" Izaki glanced at up her name and replied with a forced calm tone.

"No, they scare me a lot sometimes…" she replied softly. Sasori walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist in a hug. He was shorter than her so it was hard to hug her. Izaki smiled down slightly at her friend and slowly wrapped her arms around him to hug him back. It was a good thing she wasn't looking up to see Deidara's furious expression. Sasori pulled away when Deidara cleared his throat quite loudly.

"Seeing as Izaki has work soon I think we should go home now, yeah," he announced. Sasori nodded sleepily.

"I'm going to sit in the back with Izaki because I'm really tired…" the red-head sighed. Deidara nodded his consent.

"Okay, yeah." Together they walked to the car and slid into their seats. Sasori rested his head on Izaki's shoulder, his hair spilling over her shoulder slightly. His eyes fluttered closed the second the car started. The ride home went in complete silence. When they got to Sasori's house Izaki had to carry him out. Deidara's eye followed her the entire way to his front door. Grandma Chiyo answered and took Sasori into her arms from Izaki.

"Thanks." Then the door closed and Izaki climbed into the front seat by Deidara. For a moment it was utterly silent. Then, just as they were rounding the bend to go to Izaki's house, Deidara stopped the car and killed the motor. They sat there in the dark, neither moving nor speaking. The stillness seemed to stretch on for what seemed like an eternity.

"Izaki…thanks for being there, yeah. I could tell Sasori felt more comfortable having you around for this, yeah… I really want to…" he broke off and swallowed hard. "I really want to go out with Sasori alone, yeah."

"But your dad or Grandma Chiyo won't allow it?"

"My dad says it's disturbing, yeah." Deidara's mother had died in a fatal car accident a year after Deidara was born. Since then his father and him began conflicting on their views and personalities. Deidara was bi, his dad believed in being straight as a stick. The blonde loved art and his father wanted him to be a business man. It was a hard life for Deidara, also considering the fact that his dad often came home drunk.

"And Grandma Chiyo…?"

"…says that we shouldn't be running around together alone, yeah." The car became still once more as both became lost in their own thoughts.

"I think you better drop me off."

"Sure, yeah, have a good time at work. I may visit you, yeah, with Sasori." Then he started the car again and pulled into Izaki's driveway. The girl waved and then passed through the cars bright headlights on her way to her door. It was then that the blonde truly saw how artistically beautiful Izaki was. She was true art that lasted close to forever. Shaking his head the blonde started the car and drove himself home.

- - - - - - - - -

Izaki flipped over in her bed and sprang up when she saw the time. It was now quarter after four. She was supposed to be up fifteen minutes ago. With a groan she dragged herself to the bathroom to shower. Turning on the hot water she let it run till it was scalding hot.

Stepping in she let the burning liquid run down her skin, staring at the red trails it left behind on her skin. After several long minutes, approximately ten in her head, she turned off the water and got out. She wrapped a towel around her and then took another towel to wrap around her hair. She wiped off the mirror, pulled out her make-up, and got to work.

Often she wondered why she ever chose to be the person she was now. Staring down at the undersides of her arms she saw the familiar scars that she knew she'd put there herself. Izaki remembered the long, hard months she'd spent in utter misery. Never could she live up to her parent's expectations or be there enough for her sister or always make the right choices over and over.

Her heart felt heavy as tears burned in her eyes. It'd be a long time since she'd last cried and she didn't intend to right now. With a heavy sigh she finished what she'd half started on her make-up. Soon she tugged on a pair of faded ripped jeans and a black shirt with the words '_REVOLUTION_' printed on it. She found her Converse and slipped them on.

Checking her reflection in the mirror she pulled her hair into a low ponytail. Then she found her pendant and put that on as well. With another short glance at the clock she saw it was four-forty. Hurriedly she ran downstairs, grabbed her house key, wallet, and cell phone, and bolted out the door. She felt lucky to know where she worked was so close to her house. Izaki could easily walk over. Truthfully, she didn't feel like driving everywhere.

She turned the corner on the block and broke into a full sprint. Her feet slapped the hard earth as the wind pounded in her ears. It took only ten minutes to get there if she was fast enough. With a shuddering gasp she skidded to a halt in front of an old rundown building with the words 'REVOLUTION' spray painted onto it. Izaki turned around the complex and found the side door she came in through.

Instantly as she pushed the door open throbbing music played loudly in the background and a wave of heavy chatter washed over her. Izaki sighed in exasperation to herself and grabbed her waist-apron and name tag. Several co-workers gave her glares as she made her way out into the main floor.

- - - - - - - - -

Sasori awoke to Deidara sitting on the foot of his bed. Sleepily he rubbed his eyes and checked the clock. It was around eleven-thirty in the morning. He sat bolt upright, his head spinning from the sudden movement. Shaking his head to clear it his maroon hair fell into his sparkling emerald eyes. He reached up and brushed it away futilely.

"Morning, yeah," Deidara said. Sasori glanced over and saw he was smiling.

"How did Grandma Chiyo let you upstairs?" Deidara stared at the wall above Sasori's head.

"I don't know, yeah, she just said: 'Oh, you're looking for Sasori? He's upstairs then.'" Deidara explained.

"Okay…then why are you here…?" asked Sasori. Deidara ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to lunch with me, yeah. We could go to where Izaki works and bother her, yeah. That's if you'd like," Deidara told him, not quite meeting his eyes. Sasori stared at Deidara, stunned. Grandma Chiyo would probably consent because it was technically with Izaki around…

"Of course, Deidara!" he exclaimed with a grin. Deidara smiled.

"Then get out of bed, yeah, I'll wait downstairs," the blonde teen told him before getting up from the bed. Swiftly he crossed the floor and out the door, closing it with a soft click behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

Deidara sighed and leaned against the wall next to the front door. Grandma Chiyo had wanted to 'talk' to Sasori before he went out. It was probably more like a dictation of what not to do and what to do and crap… Suddenly the door opened and Sasori stood there. He shrugged apologetically at Deidara.

"Bottom line, make sure Izaki is close by," he said. Deidara smiled slightly.

"That's going to be hard, yeah, but don't tell her." Then he took Sasori's hand and led him off the porch. "We're going to walk there, yeah." Without another word they started walking, Sasori's hand still in Deidara's. Neither seemed to notice this little detail, though…

Upon reaching the double doors of the massive building spray painted with various messages Sasori clung tighter to Deidara's hand. Deidara glanced down at him and smiled inwardly. He pushed open the doors and immediately the hard rock notes of 'Open Wounds' washed over them. They took a table and looked out for their friend. Izaki was pretty hard to spot in the dim lighting but she came over to them when she was free.

"Hey Deidara and Sasori… Well, I guess Deidara was right, he did come to see me," she sighed. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail.

"I always mean what I say, yeah," Deidara stated bluntly. Izaki raised an eyebrow at this statement.

"So that one time when you called me a snob with a flat-chest you meant it?" she asked coolly. Deidara flushed slightly and stared off in another direction.

"I wasn't serious, yeah…"

"You just said—"

"Screw what I just said, yeah; I don't even make sense to myself…"

"Okay…well then…"

"I'll have a coke…"

"Same." Izaki nodded and walked off to get their drinks. Sasori glanced at Deidara who was staring into space.

"Dei?" he asked tentatively. Deidara was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Sasori's soft toned voice.

"You called me Dei, yeah, and what is it?" he responded with a hint of confusion lingering in his single blue eye.

"We're friends…I just assumed…"

"It's fine, yeah. So what did you want to say before?"

"Is there something on your mind…? You don't have to answer if you don't want…" Sasori said. Deidara blinked his eye and shrugged.

"Well, that dude over there seriously looks like Itachi and I honestly think he was checking Izaki out, yeah…" Deidara answered Sasori. The red-head stared at him for what seemed like forever until Izaki came back.

"Why does it look like Sasori is going to have a heart attack any moment and Deidara is stoned out of his mind?" she sighed as she set down the drinks.

"Just some dude that looks like Itachi who was checking you out," Sasori finally choked out. Izaki's eyes turned yellow with humor in the dim lighting and then back to violet. She punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Haha, very funny," she replied. Deidara stared at her intensely.

"He wasn't joking. And that is Itachi, yeah." Izaki flushed slightly.

"I'm going back into the kitchens. What's your order?"

"Two burgers, yeah, catch you later." Then Izaki vanished into the darkness.

- - - - - - - - -

Inside the kitchens Izaki sat down and supervised after the making of the food. Several co-workers passed by her without a word. Only one stopped and sat next to her. It was TenTen, another girl from school. She had deep chestnut hair pulled up in two buns on her head and green eyes. When she sat next to Izaki, neither said a word for the longest time. The silence stretched on without any intention of being broken by either girl. At last, TenTen spoke.

"I saw Deidara and Sasori here. Are they here on a…?" she inquired.

"Yeah, they are."

"Cool…" Then it went quiet again.

"Is Itachi really here?" questioned Izaki.

"Yeah, and Kisame as well…I was the waitress on their table…" answered TenTen.

"ORDER UP, IZAKI!" called over the cook.

"Talk to you sometime later…" she muttered and stood up to get the food. The fumes seemed to make her hungry as well. The last time she'd eaten was hours ago. Shrugging off the feeling she went off to put the food on the table. When she got there Deidara was glaring hostilely at Itachi. Izaki didn't even want to know what'd happened. She set the food down and went back into the kitchen. Then the DJ, lazy Shikamaru, came running in.

"Izaki, the duet to the girl who's going to karaoke to 'Potential Breakup Song' got in a freak accident flu crap thing and can't sing. It's rumored you know the lines and can sing pretty good. Can you do it?" Shikamaru panted. Izaki stared off into space for a moment.

"Guess so." She stood and took off her apron.

"I'M ON MY POINTLESSLY SHORT BREAK." Then she walked out with Shikamaru, taking down her hair and rearranging it into a more messy bun hairstyle. She was handed and microphone and glanced at her partner. To her surprise it was the shy Sakura Haruno. The pink-haired girl was exceptionally quiet but was quite intelligent.

"Hey," Sakura breathed softly.

"Hi," replied Izaki equally as quiet.

"Naruto broke up with me," Sakura sighed. "But on the lighter up side Sasuke asked me out." Sasuke Uchiha, most popular guy in the entire Sophomore year and Itachi's brother.

"Awesome."

"And now we have a little karaoke fun…" Shikamaru droned. "Despite the fact one of the original two singers couldn't be here we found a replacement just in time…"

"Who was supposed to be here…?" muttered Izaki.

"Hinata and I…" replied the other girl. Hinata Hyuuga, Sophomore year girl, remarkably quiet, sister of Neji, had a crush on Naruto, and going out with Kiba…at least that's what she thought for now.

"Give it up for the Potential Breakup Song sung by Sakura Haruno and, yes I actually got her to come up and do this, Izaki Mukura." The opening notes started to play and Sakura strutted out onto stage followed by the very reluctant Izaki.

"It took too long

It took too long

It took too long for you to call back

And normally I would just forget that

Except for the fact it was my birthday

My stupid birthday

I played along

I played along

I played along

Rolled right off my back

But obviously my armor was cracked

What kind of a boyfriend would forget that?

Who would forget that?

The type of guy who doesn't see

What he has until she leaves

Don't let me go

Cause without me you know you're lost

Wise up now or pay the cost

Soon you will know

You're not living

'Til you're living, living with me

You're not winning

'Til you're winning, winning me

You're not getting

'Til you're getting, getting to me

You're not living 'til you're living, living for me

This is the potential breakup song

Our album needs just one

Oh baby please

Please tell me…" The notes rolled right out of Izaki's mouth. She was oblivious to anything at the moment but the music pounding in her ears. Sakura was a horrible singer, this she could easily tell from the beginning. Soon enough the song ended and Izaki scampered offstage and wove her way back into the kitchen with the applause following her every step of the way.

- - - - - - - - -

Deidara was stunned he'd never heard Izaki sing like that before. Her voice was clear and melodic. The way she seemed to just let the music take over and flow through her veins was uncanny. He shook his head and concentrated on Sasori who was also just as dumbstruck as him.

"T-that was Izaki?" he stammered.

"I guess so, yeah, I've never heard her sing like that," Deidara replied blankly. Soon enough Izaki was heading over to them, done for the day and bringing them their check. Deidara paid and the hauled his two friends out of there.

As soon as the bright sunlight hit their faces they covered their eyes. It'd been way too dark in there and the light was blinding when they got out of there. Together they walked in silence to Sasori's house.

"Izaki…" The girl looked up to see Sasori speaking to her. His eyes were full of unspoken questions. Izaki ran a slender, pale hand through her dark hair and closed her eyes.

"Yes, Sasori, what is it?" she responded at last.

"How did you learn to sing like that…?" Izaki stared off into space for a moment.

"I taught myself by sitting myself down every day with my computer microphone and then recording myself singing songs I knew that were pretty easy to sing and then played them back to see what I was doing well on and improve on it. When I felt it was good enough I posted it up on YouTube for the heck of it. I got a lot of really good reviews. I did that since I was thirteen years old. I'm sixteen now so that's three years," she answered. Sasori nodded slightly in understanding.  
"What's your YouTube, yeah?" asked Deidara.

"Well, it's AlwaysHereToday, no spaces."

"That's you??"

"Yeah…"

"You're on the front page every day, yeah!" Izaki shrugged sheepishly.

"Guess so…"

"I really loved your version of 'Who I Am Hates Who I've Been', yeah," Deidara finally sighed out.

"It's one of the songs I've been able to relate to the most." Deidara nodded absentmindedly and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. The rest of the walk home went in total silence. They dropped off Sasori first and then went off to Deidara's house.

"Are you sure you can walk over to your house on your own, yeah?" asked Deidara. Izaki had literally insisted on going back to her home alone or else her parents would get the wrong idea of where she'd been.

"Definitely sure, Deidara, honest," she replied coolly. The blonde nodded his head, hair falling slightly more into his left eye.

"Okay, yeah, see you tomorrow at school," he told her before heading off into his own house.

Izaki let herself into the three-story, cream colored complex and quietly shut the stained oak door behind her. She tossed her key onto the small table where the keys were kept and hurried up to her room. Her feet made no sound against the sandy carpeting of the stairs as she went up to the second floor where the bedrooms of the Mukura family were located. Izaki passed by several tightly closed doors till she came to the last door.

Upon opening the door she saw the usual crimson four walls. To the left there was a computer on a simple desk and on the opposite wall there was a low bed with a red and black checkered blanket. The carpet was close to the same color as the outside of the house was. A door farthest to the right hand side of the bed led to the bathroom. On the left of the bed there was a small side table. An enormous window was practically the first thing you saw when you entered her room. To the left of that there was a small bookshelf.

Silently she crossed the room and slid into her desk chair and pulled out the keyboard. She logged into her e-mail and scanned who they were from. Then she stopped dead. There was an e-mail from an address she didn't recognize and no name next to it. Curiously she clicked on that one. Her eyes scanned over the e-mail quickly. Then she reached over and picked up her cell phone.


	5. Chapter 5

Deidara was lying on his bed, eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling above him. The music pounding in his room was unnecessarily loud but he needed to hear it. The voice that floated over the expensive sound system was, in short, beautiful. He could tell the singer was experienced and talented. And he also knew it was Izaki who was singing. No…he liked Sasori, not Izaki. He rubbed his fists to his forehead. His cell phone started to ring. It was a good distraction till he saw the caller ID. It was Izaki calling him. With a sigh he flipped open the black phone and answered.

"Hello, yeah?" he said.

"Is that you Deidara?"

"Yeah…" There was a hesitant pause over the line. For a moment Deidara thought she'd hung up on him. Then there was a deep, shuddering breath.

"You were right, Deidara."

"Right about what, yeah? What is it, Izaki?" he demanded. Something was wrong.

"It was Itachi in Revolution…"

"And…?"

"I have an e-mail from him asking if he can come over to talk with me." Deidara sucked in a breath. He shut his eye and took several deep breaths.

"What are you going to say, yeah?"

"I don't know. My parents aren't home. My sister isn't home. It's the maid's day off. I'm home all alone." Her tone was shaky and Deidara could clearly tell she was afraid.

"Okay, yeah, calm down. Do you have anything you can use to record, yeah? Wait. That's a stupid question, yeah."

"Your point…?"

"Record whatever he says and if you need to use it against him later then do it, yeah," Deidara sighed. He heard a sigh of relief.

"Okay, Deidara thanks a lot. I didn't know who else to call."

"No problem, yeah, talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye." The phone went dead and Deidara snapped his cell closed. He crossed his arms behind his head and resumed staring blankly at the ceiling. Silently Deidara hoped Izaki would be alright. She'd call if she needed him…

- - - - - - - - -

Izaki set her phone back onto her desk and breathed slowly. What Deidara had told her to do made a lot of sense, actually. With another heavy sigh she clicked reply on the e-mail and wrote back. Then, in a vain attempt to calm herself down, she pulled her microphone closer to her, pulled up the program for recording herself, and iTunes. She chose t.A.T.u's 'All the Things She Said'. Izaki pressed 'Record' and 'Play'.

It was three and a half minutes of relief from the real world. She didn't feel like listening back so she just added random pictures of blackness and then saved it to her computer. Afterwards she uploaded it to her YouTube. Leaning back in her chair she waited for the video to go live. She closed her eyes while she waited.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door. Confused, she stood and went over to open it. She hadn't expected anyone to come around at this time nor to be able to have access to her room without the maids around… Quietly she clicked on 'Record', darkened the screen of her computer, silenced the monitor, and went to open the door. Upon opening the door she came face to face with Itachi Uchiha. Steady black eyes met cold violet ones. Silence seemed to pass between the two.

"Can I come in?" His voice was soft yet mature. She nodded and moved aside in the doorway. Without a word they sat side by side on the bed. Itachi stared down at the carpet and Izaki stared out the massive window into the clear blue sky.

"Why are you here?" Izaki finally asked him. Itachi stared down at his hands in his lap for a moment, not speaking. The silence seemed to stretch on vast enough to cover an entire universe. At last he spoke.

"I wanted to…" He paused and looked off into the wall in front of him. Izaki let out an exasperated sigh. Her patience had finally worn thin.

"Let's start with the facts, shall we? First, you start harassing my best friend on the way to school. Then my friends and I find you lounging against our lockers. Third off you and Kisame decided to bother us during Mr. Hatake's class. Then you turn up at Revolution where I work. And finally you send me an e-mail asking to talk to me now when I have never, ever given you my e-mail. So, what do you have to say for yourself?" Izaki listed off. Itachi finally stared full-on at her with his piercing deep brown eyes that were almost black.

"Okay, fine, well… I was wondering if…maybe sometime…" The Uchiha Prodigy was never one to get tongue-tied…

"Spit it out or get out, seriously…" Izaki finally grumbled.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date sometime." Izaki stared at him through blank violet eyes. The talk of the school was that he was going out with Kisame.

"Right…really hilariously funny…you've been with every girl in the entire school except me and now you're after me. I'm not one to be used, honestly." Her tone was stone-cold.

"It's not that." Izaki stood and stared down at him through blazing scarlet eyes.

"Then what is it!" Itachi stared down at his hands again and let out a long sigh.

"It's that, well, my parents really don't like this whole 'pick-up-and-drop' thing I do with girls… They said I should honestly find someone who I'm really interested in and pursue that… Not just use other girls to get rid of those feelings… They told me to find someone I'm really going to want to be with for a long time. And I came to realize that person…" Izaki bit her lip. She knew what was coming next. "…is you."

- - - - - - - - -

Deidara walked into a stiff atmosphere at school the very next day. He glanced around nervously. Sasori hadn't been waiting on his porch like usual and Izaki hadn't passed by his house that day. Something worried him he just couldn't place. Maybe it was that Izaki hadn't called him later that night about what'd happened with Itachi or the fact that the school air was crisp like a fresh-ironed shirt, or possibly even the fact Sasori seemed to be avoiding him.

At last his locker came in view with a very uneasy sight. Itachi was leaning against the locker next to Izaki's on the left and talking casually with her while she nodded, smiled slightly, and spoke a few words back. On her right getting things from his locker was Sasori. Instantly a fire of rage swept over Deidara.

"Hey Izaki and Sasori, yeah," he called over, heading to the locker to the right of Sasori's.

"Hi Deidara," piped up Sasori. His smile was unnaturally bright and it sort of scared the blonde…

"…hey…" sighed Izaki. She turned to Itachi. "Catch you later." He nodded and left soon followed by the other teen as she headed off to her own class alone, not even caring to wait for Sasori or Deidara. The blonde stuck out his tongue after her. He didn't even see the bruises covering her arms and face as she walked away.

"Stuck-up brat, yeah," he muttered as he slammed his locker closed. Sasori stared at the ground for a moment before looking up slowly and speaking.

"She's going out with Itachi." Deidara stared at him as if he'd gone completely mad. His lone eye stared at Sasori unblinkingly. Finally he was able to find words again.

"Izaki is _what_, yeah??" he gasped. The bell rang, signaling class.

"See you next class, Deidara!" It was Monday. The trio's classes were completely different than they were any other day of the week. Sasori headed off smiling goofily to himself as he left the dumbstruck blonde.

- - - - - - - - -

Sasori sat waiting at the usual lunch spot of the three. He sat munching on a sandwich when Deidara stormed over, single blue eye blazing. The teen sat down and glared at Sasori with clear fury.

"Why weren't you on your porch like normal, yeah?" he demanded crossly. The red-headed teen looked hurt.

"Izaki and Itachi came by earlier—"

"So that gives you a right to ditch me to go with her, yeah??" Deidara suddenly snapped. "I'm the only one here totally in the dark about all this, yeah!" Izaki chose that moment to come over and sit down quietly.

"Deidara, I meant to call you but Itachi had to leave quickly because my parents came home unexpectedly with my drunken sister who was really incoherent. Then my father got mad at my sister for underage drinking and left out the door himself. My mom assumed he was going to a bar and immediately got Mizuki and herself out of there, totally forgetting me. Then my dad comes home, completely stoned out of his mind and angry for no apparent reason, and comes upstairs. I was really quiet and everything was turned off. But he still came in and found me and beat me. If you even think I had time to call you, think again," Izaki said quietly so no other students would overhear. Deidara snorted in disbelief. Sasori glanced at the two. An argument was brewing slowly but surely between the two.

"My dad comes home ninety percent of the time drunk and hits me, yeah, but I just get out of there or fight back. And I usually have time to call, yeah. Apparently you don't though 'cause you're a conceited little—" Deidara stated heatedly. Izaki stood and glared at him through blazing blood red eyes.

"_Conceited_?? You have no idea what I've been through all my life, Deidara Averett!" Then Izaki stormed off. She hardly ever—no one ever—used Deidara's last name if they valued their life. The last Sasori saw of her was when she veered into the girl's bathroom to, most likely, cry her heart out. And Sasori knew Izaki wasn't one to cry…ever.

"See you around, Deidara." Then he stood and walked away to find Itachi, leaving Deidara sitting on his own.

- - - - - - - - -

Itachi was completely bored out of his mind as he lounged against the wall at the 'popular kids' table. His eyes were closed and his mind was wandering. At the moment an image of Izaki with a small smile on her face flashed through his mind. Then he saw her face again, only with a huge bruise on her left cheek, her lips moving in words he couldn't hear but only read. Suddenly, loud snorts of laughter broke through his thoughts. Annoyed, he cracked open one eye to see Izaki's friend Sasori standing timidly a few feet away from him.

"Itachi?" he asked tentatively. The student sighed and sat up straighter.

"What is it?" Itachi replied coolly, ignoring the jeers of the other students. The red-headed teen looked nervous and…sad?

"It's Izaki…Deidara upset her…a lot…" Sasori said slowly. Itachi felt a cold hand of dread tug at his heart.

"How much did he upset her, Sasori?"

"She went into the girl's bathroom afterwards."

"Izaki doesn't cry."

"I know…I know…and that's what scares me a little…" Itachi wasted no time in flinging his legs over the other side of the bench, grabbing Sasori's hand, and dragging him along through the halls to the girl's bathroom. They were just in time to see Izaki slipping out of the bathroom.

"Izaki!" called over Itachi. She didn't turn around. The pair raced over to her.

"What is it, Itachi?" her voice was low and hoarse.

"Sasori told me that Deidara said some crap to you…care to share?" Itachi inquired levelly. Izaki shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"Yeah…I do care." Sasori walked over to her and took her hand in his. The girl glanced down and noticed he was wearing a black, long-sleeved sweatshirt like he always had…

"Izaki…Deidara didn't mean it…he doesn't know…"

"Deidara doesn't know a lot of things…both about me and you." Sasori swallowed hard.

"Yeah…I suppose…but Deidara was just angry you didn't tell him anything at first. He isn't one who likes to be left out of things," Sasori responded softly. Izaki finally turned to face him. Her eyes were a light shade of blue which meant sorrow.

"I don't exactly have the greatest life-story ever that needs to be shared left and right. And I meant to tell him when he walked over to us in the morning but he seemed so angry already," she admitted quietly. Itachi just stood there, watching the two.

"Izaki, maybe you should just, you know, tell him the entire story that you told me," Sasori advised her. Izaki's eyes softened slightly to a light purple.

"Yeah, maybe I should. But who needs to apologize?" she agreed. Itachi spoke next at this point.

"Deidara does, Izaki, because he's the one who exploded and didn't give you your time to say what you wanted to say."

"That's because I don't know what to say for myself."


	6. Chapter 6

Deidara glared darkly at everyone who passed by him. Technically the blonde could be considered popular without Sasori and Izaki. With his natural good looks any girl would die to be with him. The only thing that kept his popularity at a negative was the fact he was friends with Sasori and Izaki. Now, as he leaned against the wall around the corner to the hallway to the bathrooms, Deidara was receiving several interested glances.

To distract himself he replayed the events from lunch in his head. Izaki's sister Mizuki, aged fifteen years old, had been out underage drinking. A voice in his head told Deidara repeatedly that this wasn't the first time this chain of events happened to Izaki. How long ago was the day he met her? They'd met the summer before they started their freshman year at high school started so that was about a year and ten months.

An image of the first time he'd first heard about Mizuki's 'problem' flashed across the surface of his conscious. Izaki was sitting on her bed with her knees under her chin and crying. Deidara had walked in accidentally because the maids told him it was okay to go in. Now he was seeing the girl with a heart of stone that never cried crying on her bed. She had looked up when she heard him cough softly. Deidara remembered asking her what was wrong and Izaki telling him he wouldn't understand. He'd insisted he would and listened wholeheartedly.

Ah…now he remembered… Mizuki had been drinking since she was thirteen years old, the day before her fourteenth birthday. No one knew what happened to the blonde Mukura girl but she just turned into a drinker most of the time. Izaki had a hard time coping with her sister's strange habits and her father's abusive state when he found out. So all this had happened to her since she was fourteen. Deidara had his father after him since he was ten.

So their situations were slightly out of order. But then he recalled the scars on Izaki's wrists the day she'd started wearing short sleeved shirts. The crisscrossing lines were enough to make him gag or hit her across the face for being so stupid. He hated cutters with all his very being. They wanted to hurt themselves and did it without a care because they couldn't deal with their _stupid_ life problems.

Deidara had problems but he wasn't going around slicing open his wrists. So did Sasori. Only he didn't cut himself. The kid was just strange but in a good way. Sure, he wore huge sweaters even when it was ninety outside but that wasn't so wrong… And then it hit him full-force. Izaki had been wearing long sleeves when she was cutting. Sasori was wearing long sleeves.

He resisted the urge to scream. Sasori was a cutter. Izaki was an emo-goth. Itachi was a creep. Deidara was…confused and his head was spinning as he turned the corner and stormed over to where he knew Itachi, Izaki, and Sasori were.

- - - - - - - - -

Sasori was glad Izaki was feeling a bit better. He'd known her since she was only twelve years old when they'd run into each other when Sasori had moved in. She had been the only one that was nice to him for a while. Then when she was fourteen, halfway through the summer, she introduced him to Deidara. From there, Sasori's life had gone up.

Now, though, he turned to see Deidara walking over to them and he looked really mad… He clung tighter to Izaki's hand. He always hated seeing Deidara this angry.

"Sasori," Deidara started firmly. Sasori stared at him through wide, green orbs.

"H-hi…" stammered Sasori softly. Izaki could sense his discomfort.

"Not here, Deidara," she stated decisively with cold grey eyes. The blonde stared at her for a moment.

"For once in your life, yeah, shut up. I don't want to hear it." Then he turned to Sasori. "Why do you always wear long sleeves, yeah? It's around eighty degrees out today, yeah." The red-head looked scared for a moment. Izaki's eyes flashed dangerously close to a light green which was fear.

"I…I…" The bell rang loudly.

"Oh, look, it's time for class," Itachi interrupted. Deidara turned to him, and, surprisingly, punched him in the stomach. Normally Itachi would've had time to react but now, when the situation was so confusing, he didn't. Izaki's eyes widened in horror as Deidara leered down at Itachi.

"STOP IT!" Izaki shouted and shoved Deidara away. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She knelt down next to Itachi and helped him up.

"What's wrong with _me_? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with Sasori? What's wrong with this **stupid** world?" he yelled right back. And then he did the unthinkable. He hit her. He slapped her across the left cheek. At first she didn't react—no one reacted actually. Deidara just gaped at Izaki and then his eye darted to his hand. Itachi stared at the blonde as if he'd gone completely crazy. Izaki just stood there, completely stunned. Sasori looked about ready to cry, scream, or run. Then Izaki met Deidara's lone eye with icy, deep grey ones.

"Deidara Averett, you've really crossed the line this time." Then she turned and walked away.

- - - - - - - - -

The rest of the day passed in an uneventful blur. Everything in Izaki's world seemed turned completely upside-down. But never before had Deidara actually gone as far as hitting her when he was angry at her. Come to think of it, the blonde hardly ever got irritated at anyone… Shrugging it off she did her best to avoid Deidara, Sasori, and Itachi. Nothing seemed right anymore.

At last the bell was screaming shrilly for the students to pack up and go home to do their too-easy homework. Izaki scrambled out of her last class for the day, advanced math, and got to her locker before anyone else. She hurriedly put her books in her bag, shut her locker, and turned to leave only to come face to face with Sasori.

"Izaki, why are you avoiding me? Deidara won't talk to me and Itachi doesn't even to know I'm there! And you're evading me!" he exclaimed. Izaki's eyes softened slightly and she put a hand on his shoulder, adjusting the strap of her messenger bag on her shoulder so it wouldn't hit Sasori.

"I'm sorry. I'm just really annoyed at Deidara and I needed my space. It's not fair to you, though, that I stay away from you," she replied quietly. Sasori nodded slightly, casting his gaze down to his sneakers.

"Okay." Izaki tried to think of a way to make it up to him.

"Have you got your books?" Sasori held up his stack of books. He didn't use a backpack. Izaki smiled slightly.

"Alright, we can walk home together if you'd like." Sasori's face lightened a bit. He smiled slightly for the first time since the episode after lunch. Then his face fell again.

"What about Deidara and Itachi?" Izaki pursed her lips and Sasori knew he'd said something wrong.

"I don't want to see Deidara for now. As for Itachi he'll be okay." Then she smiled again and resumed walking. Soon enough Sasori's small house came into view and Grandma Chiyo burst out of the door. Her eyes were blazing as she gathered Sasori into a protective hug.

"Sasori, Deidara phoned saying Izaki was hanging around some bad influences. I don't want to see you around her anymore." The girl stared for a moment, lost for words, till Sasori spoke.

"Grandma Chiyo, it's only Itachi. And Izaki is turning him into a better person. Don't judge her by the people she is around, please… You've known her since we moved her a few years ago. She'd never do anything wrong to me." Chiyo cast Izaki a heated glare. Finally, she spoke.

"No, Sasori Akasuna, I don't remember that girl back then." Turning Chiyo shoved Sasori inside without another word and shut the door with a loud bang.

- - - - - - - - -

Itachi had found Izaki had already left without him. Sighing he walked home alone. As soon as he walked through the front door and to the kitchen for a snack before he went into his room to study he was greeted by the sight of Sasuke sitting at the kitchen table. His younger brother turned to him and glared at him through dark eyes.

"Found another pick-up, have you?" spat the boy coldly. Itachi blinked slowly before he fully understood what Sasuke was saying.

"No, Sasuke, I haven't. We plan to stay together for a while," he retorted before grabbing the orange juice out of the fridge and giving it an experimental shake. Sasuke made a face.

"You know what mom and dad will think, right?" Itachi slammed the refrigerator door shut. Turning he glared hatefully at his younger brother.

"They'll understand! They said the next one better be one I won't drop in a heartbeat," he snapped back before stalking off to his room and slamming the door behind him. Sasuke let out a hiss of frustration. Itachi didn't know that his parents had told him to leave girls alone for a while before he figured out who he wanted to be with. The time frame they'd given him was a month. There was a storm coming over the Uchiha household when their parents got home.

- - - - - - - - -

Deidara felt pretty damn proud of himself. Single handedly he'd taken Sasori, Izaki's one friend left, away from her with one phone call. He grinned up at the ceiling above him as the steady whir of the paper shredder met his ears. Currently he was destroying a picture of Izaki. Slowly but surely the picture was going through a slow torment of death to it. He sneered up at the ceiling. Izaki was finally getting what she deserved. She'd had her few moments of glory, now he was prepared to tear her down.

Something had awakened in Deidara that he'd shunned away a long time ago. It was a feeling so strong that there was no stopping it. The feeling was raw anger. Sasori would be his eternally. Izaki would fall harder than she could've ever imagined. And Deidara was going to win a battle he'd started himself.

- - - - - - - - -

Izaki sat desolately on her bed. Her eyes were full of unshed tears as she read over the text message Itachi's parents had sent her and then the one from Sasuke and then finally the note from the elder Uchiha himself. She leaned her forehead on her knees and breathed hard. It was so hard to process right now. Deidara was now her worst nightmare. Sasori's grandmother had pushed her away without remorse from Sasori. Itachi had broken up with her by text message—well, maybe more like his parents had…

A raw sob escaped her as she wrapped her arms around her legs. So this is what it felt like to fall apart all over again. At last she'd gotten her life in order and now it was falling apart in front of her face. Why did this have to happen to her? Why did everything have to break down when she'd just found the light that kept her going strong for the first time in years? It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense.

Tears cascaded down her cheeks, shimmering gems that shattered as they made contact with her bed covers. This was the third time in five years she'd cried because someone had broken her heart, and world, apart.


	7. Chapter 7

Itachi stared down at his hands in the pale moonlight. As soon as his parents had arrived home Sasuke had jumped on them and told them about Itachi's new 'pick-up girlfriend'. Nothing Itachi had said seemingly went through his parent's thick skulls. Immediately they took his cell phone and text messaged her, telling them that she and Itachi were no longer together. Then Sasuke took the phone and cheerfully rubbed it in her face. Then Itachi got his phone back and messaged her himself, telling her he was sorry. By now she'd probably already cried her heart out.

He hated himself so much. Izaki had lost so much in her life. She'd had to cope with so much devastation and heartbreak. The last thing she ever needed was to suffer this blow. And he didn't even know what Deidara had done to her yet.

- - - - - - - - -

Sasori finally had a sit-down talk with Chiyo. It was the first time in years they'd done anything like this. But, honestly, she needed to know the truth about his friends. Izaki had changed from the bright and smiling girl when she had first met Sasori. Through all the damage that'd been done to her she'd finally changed herself to who she knew she was. Despite the fact she'd cut herself and wrote graphic death stories Sasori had stuck with her till she was finally calmed down enough to avoid the acts she'd committed before.

"So…Deidara and you are technically…going out…" Chiyo said slowly, wanting to make sure she heard herself correctly. "And Izaki went through…a phase…in her life that defined herself…and turned her into the person she is now. Oh, and she's also going out with that Itachi boy."

"Yes."

"Sasori…how did this all happen without me seeing it?"

"I can't answer that because I don't have an answer to that, only you do." She nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess I should write a note to her tomorrow for you to give to her, then." Sasori brightened considerably.

"If she'll take it…"

"Let's just hope she will. Otherwise you can tell her I'm only a _bit_ sorry, Sasori Akasuna."

- - - - - - - - -

The next day Izaki had to be yelled at by her mother to get up and go to school. Truthfully, if she had a choice, she wouldn't have gone at all. Resentfully she got up and dragged herself into her natural routine of the day. Silently she slung her bag over her right shoulder and walked out the front door.

The way to school was hell. Deidara was waiting for her when she passed by his house. He just sneered at her and attempted to trip her. He ended up following her all the way to school shouting insults at her back. It was only when he yelled:

"And your sister is a drunken—" He cussed there. Izaki had turned and grabbed his throat, slamming him against the lockers with her eyes blazing.

"Mizuki has issues that you will never understand. I have issues you will never understand either. So shut your mouth because you have no clue what you're talking about when you talk about my sister like that." Her voice was icy cold and she looked about ready to severely hurt Deidara. Her hand resting at her side trembled slightly and the one holding Deidara up tensed slightly. The blonde stared down at her through his lone azure eye.

"Try me, yeah. Nothing could be worse than what I go through, yeah." Izaki dropped him and turned away. She crossed her arms across her chest.

"I've heard that too many times to count. And you think it's all about you, ne?" her voice was hoarse yet level. "I've got to get to class." Then she walked away. Deidara felt guilt piercing every part of him. He'd tried to turn Sasori and Chiyo against Izaki. It didn't feel right, though. Nothing felt right.

- - - - - - - - -

The partners Mr. Umino assigned made Izaki want to just walk out the door of English class. She was paired with Itachi and Deidara was paired with Sasori. The other paired students all knew each other so they were perfectly fine together.

"Begin," droned Mr. Umino. Izaki went back to her notes and didn't even say a word. Itachi glanced at her and sighed inwardly. The girl looked about ready to fall to pieces any second. She was intensely studying her notes as Itachi looked at them over her shoulder. At last, she spoke.

"Do you think it would better to do two papers, find what things we both agree on, and write the final paper based on that?" Her tone was strained and quiet. Itachi stared down at his hands in his lap.

"I guess that would be a good idea…though…" he paused and glanced up at Izaki. "…I don't know much about art, honestly." Izaki glanced up at him.

"That's the area where Deidara, Sasori, and I clash most of the time," she said thoughtfully. "Deidara thinks art is short-lived. Sasori believes art is long-lived. And I feel art is more of something that lasts eternally, which isn't the same as what Sasori believes, long-lasting." It was a good thing they were allowed to talk during this time or else the pair would've been kicked out by now and failed on the assignment. Itachi, for the first time Izaki ever saw him do, smiled slightly.

- - - - - - - - -

Sasori glanced over at Izaki and Itachi chatting away about art. Deidara was sulking and not doing much at all. Sighing, the red-headed teen poked him and told him he was going to see Izaki. Then he slid out of his seat and walked over to Izaki. He sat down on the floor next to her.

"Hi there, Izaki, Grandmother Chiyo says she's pretty sorry 'bout yesterday," Sasori told her softly. The black-haired girl smiled down at him briefly.

"It's alright. Everything just happened quite fast yesterday," she assured him. He nodded slightly.

"Yeah…Deidara seems kind of lost…" he added thoughtfully. Izaki glanced up briefly at the blonde. He was blankly staring ahead into blank nothingness and the only signs that he was living was the rise and fall of his chest as well as an occasional blink.

"Well, maybe we should talk to him later."

"Wait—what happened?" Itachi said with his usual emotionless tone. Sasori blinked at him with emerald adorned irises, now seeing him for the first time since he'd come over to talk to Izaki.

"Oh…Deidara tried to put Grandmother Chiyo on his side against Izaki but failed miserably." Sasori said it like he would talk about the weather, casually and in a very bored tone. Itachi stared at him. Had everyone around here lost their mind?

"Then my parents breaking me up with Izaki probably didn't help her cause?" he sighed cautiously. Sasori had been staring at the floor until Itachi spoke. Deidara seemed to hear the words too because he shot a death glare at him. The bell, thankfully, rang. The bad news was the next class was with Mr. Hatake who didn't care what the hell they did. And they had it with Itachi. Kisame was sick today.

Deidara and Sasori (surprisingly) managed to pin Itachi to a wall. Deidara was holding him by the throat, his lone eye full of rage.

"I swear I'm going to break your _face_ for breaking up with Izaki, yeah," he snapped. Itachi stared down at him through blank twin coal eyes.

"It was my parents. They'd told me to stay away from girls for a month. I forgot. I was going to try and explain to them after school today."

"You better. Or Sasori and I will punch your stupid face in, yeah. Izaki is _our_ friend, yeah, and we will personally kill anyone who decides to mess with her. If I must, I will do it myself and kill the person on my own. Is that clear, yeah?" Deidara said harshly. Silence settled uncomfortably over them. Slowly Itachi nodded. "Good." Then the blonde dropped him and he landed with a loud thump. The bell rang for the second time that day. It was time for lunch.

- - - - - - - - -

The rest of the day passed by till Deidara and Izaki were walking Sasori home. Chiyo cast Deidara a confused glance before herding Sasori inside. On the walk to Deidara's house they talked.

"Why'd you do it?" Deidara looked up at the sound of Izaki's voice.

"Do what, yeah?"

"Try to break apart Sasori and I, insult me all the way to school, and then stand up for me against Itachi…"

"Oh…that…I don't know, yeah."

"Maybe you're a girl and having mood swings before—" Deidara punched her in the arm lightly.

"Haha, very funny Izaki, yeah," he said sarcastically. They were at Deidara's house now. His father was, for once, waiting for him by the gate. Izaki could clearly see Deidara stiffen slightly at the sight of his ego-maniac father.

"Deidara, it's great to see ya home…" his father called out, his words slightly slurred. There was a drunken haze over his eyes. Izaki instinctively grabbed Deidara's wrist. She tugged lightly.

"Actually, Mr. Averett, Deidara and I were just stopping by to let you know he's coming over to study with me," Izaki interjected as politely as she could muster. Mr. Averett narrowed his eyes at her.

"I want Deidara home." Izaki stared at him through level violet eyes without flinching. Her gaze clearly said the words that Deidara wished she wouldn't say. All Deidara wanted was for Izaki to go home and leave him here to face his father.

"No." The blonde quickly ducked in front of her.

"Dad…" He was shoved aside roughly and hit his head on the gate with a resounding thud. Mr. Averett was close enough for Izaki to smell the alcohol in his breath.

"Listen to me. Nobody, and I mean no one, refuses _me_," he sneered. Izaki still went unfazed.

"No, sir, you listen to me and you listen hard. I will call social services and the police if you do not put down that bottle of sake and get out of that stupid haze you're in." Deidara was just barely conscious enough to recognize the tone in Izaki's voice. It was a tone she only used when she was sick and tired of hearing someone talking crap to her. "Furthermore, _sir_, I do believe it's time I leave with Deidara and make sure he's okay unlike you because you just leave him there, beaten and scarred, and not even caring. Good day to you." Then she walked over, picked up Deidara bridal-style, and stalked off.


	8. Chapter 8

Deidara felt himself being lifted and carried. When he opened his eyes he found to his complete astonishment it was Izaki who was carrying him. She stared down at him momentarily and smiled slightly.

"You're awake."

"…yeah…my head hurts…"

"Not surprising." He heard her footfalls on the steps and then a door opening and closing. Deidara was laid down and Izaki sat down next to him.

"What happened, yeah? Did he hurt you?" Deidara demanded inquisitively. Izaki shook her head in a silent gesture of 'no'.

"I'm fine, Deidara, you got a huge hit to your head, though." Deidara grimaced and reached back to feel a growing lump on the back of his head.

"Ouch, yeah, that hurts…" Izaki shrugged and went over to sit in her desk chair to face him.

"I'm calling Sasori, whether you like it or not."

"_WHAT_??" he screeched.

"Hush or my parents will come upstairs." With those words she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the number. She leaned back in the chair and waited for an answer. Deidara just sighed and sank back against the bed. He knew Izaki wouldn't stop.

- - - - - - - - -

"Sasori, it's for you," called over an exasperated Chiyo. She held out the phone to Sasori who nodded politely before taking it in his hand. The cool cream-colored plastic felt nice in his hand.

"Hello?" he said softly.

"Hey, Sasori, it's me…Izaki."

"Oh…"

"Listen, I got Deidara over here—" The phone was held away from her and to the blonde who was cursing under his breath. "—and as you can see he isn't too happy about it. But anyways, just thought I'd let you know his dad was drunk and waiting when we got to his house to drop him off. No worries, just a huge hit to his head." Sasori sighed and tapped his right forefinger to his chin.

"I'm coming."

"_WHAT_?"

"I'm going over to see him." There was a long pause.

"Alright, Sasori, I'll see you then." The phone went dead and Sasori replaced it in its cradle.

"Grandma Chiyo, I'm going to Izaki's house to see Deidara," he called over his shoulder while he grabbed his still unpacked schoolbag and hurried out the front door and down the steps of the old porch. He lived at least a block and a half away from Izaki. He ran fast and hard as his breath became ragged. Sasori had to dodge several pedestrians on his way but it was worth it when he was knocking on the front door of Izaki's house. Slowly the door opened and Izaki checked to see who it was.

"Oh, hi Sasori," she sighed wearily. "Deidara is pretty sore about me calling you." Then she opened the door for him. He stepped into a large entryway and to his right there was a small, yet elegant, set of stairs heading up into the second story of the house. To his left there was an extravagant lounge with plush chairs and couches. Izaki gently steered up him the staircase and onto the second floor. Then she walked to her room, expecting Sasori to follow her, which he did.

When they entered her room the first thing Sasori saw was Deidara lying on Izaki's bed. Sasori ran over to him and sat down right on Deidara's stomach. The blonde made an unhealthy gurgling sound and his eye snapped open immediately.

"What the _hell_, yeah?!" he growled. Then he saw Sasori…sitting on his stomach. "Oh…yeah…"

- - - - - - - - -

"I'd better go." Those were Izaki's last words before she left her room. She needed air—badly. Her recent text-message breakup had really shaken her to the core. With a resigned sigh she walked herself over to the park and stood on the small bridge over the stream that ran through the park. Her reflection was shown with some ripples in the water. Staring down hard at her mirror image almost made Izaki want to cry.

Her vibrant violet eyes were overwhelmed by the eye liner and the heavy eye shadow did nothing to help her cause. Had she always looked so horrible? So hard to approach? She leaned her elbows on the railing of the bridge and rubbed her temples. Words she'd once heard from her mother rang freely through her head: _You could be a beautiful girl, Izaki, you've just got to scrape away the layers of grime from all the times you've been hurt by everyone around you to become that person._

A single tear fell and splashed into the rushing water. It was her parent's fault she felt like she had to be perfect. It was Sasori and Deidara's fault she felt like she needed to be the one to listen and help. Her sister was the reason why Izaki felt like she was hurting more and more inside everyday because she drank. It made her feel like she'd failed Mizuki was a big sister.

Everything was so messed up. When had everything taken a wrong turn like this? When had Izaki turned herself into this person? She could never go back and change what'd already been done, but she could change what was going to happen. She bit her bottom lip and cast one last forlorn glance at her reflection before returning her gaze into the nothingness in front of her.

"I don't want to hurt anymore," she whispered in a choked voice.

- - - - - - - - -

Deidara stared at Sasori who was still sitting on his stomach. He tapped his fingers on the bed next to him and finally let out an exasperated sigh.

"Can you get off me, yeah? You're crushing my lungs," Deidara pointed out.

"Sorry." Sasori mumbled as he plopped down next to the blonde who sat up just seconds following.

"…I told Izaki not to call you, yeah," he grumbled.

"She was worried thought I should be one of the first to hear what happened," Sasori retorted. Deidara stared at him for a long time through his lone eye.

"Why did she think you needed to hear first?" Sasori stared down at the floor.

"Because…"

"Because why, Sasori?"

"She knows."

"Knows what, Sasori? Tell me."

"I…I…" the red-head faltered and fidgeted slightly. "She knows I kinda…sorta…like you…"


	9. Chapter 9

Itachi had just gone to the park for a walk. Instead he saw Izaki on the bridge in the park. She looked like she'd been crying because there were huge black streaks down her face from her eyeliner. Night was just beginning to fall and the last dying rays of sunshine cascaded down on the park. Silently and swiftly he approached her. At the sound of his footsteps on the bridge Izaki turned to him. Her eyes were red with tears.

"Hello," she said softly so he couldn't hear the breaking in her voice. Both knew they shouldn't be out so late on a school night but neither cared.

"Hi, Izaki," he replied equally as quiet. It seemed like if either of them talked too loud something delicate would be broken between them.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked.

"…I wanted to clear my head."

"That makes two of us."

"Shouldn't you be at home?"

"…I just said why I wasn't."

"Oh…right…" Silence fell like a heavy curtain between the two.

"Itachi, why did you always go on and off girlfriends?" Izaki inquired at last.

"Honestly? I just didn't find the girl who I was looking for—ever. Everyone who I dated was a stuck-up brat who turned crazy the second I started dating her. Nobody seemed real around me. I didn't know what to do with them so I just broke up with them. My parents viewed it differently and told me dating someone should be serious and not what I do," Itachi answered. Izaki nodded thoughtfully.

"I hardly date because…well…" she stared down at the worn wooden railing of the bridge. "I don't really go out with anyone because anyone who I date turns out to be a heartbreaker and someone who wants me to be something I'm not. Truthfully, I want to be with someone who actually cares about me and doesn't try to change me. Another reason being I feel like I have to take care of my family and friends first. Especially my sister and Deidara and Sasori." Her words were soft-spoken but Itachi could feel the full weight of them pressing down on him.

"What's so wrong with your sister, Deidara, and Sasori that makes you feel like you need to be the one to take care of them? Have you ever thought you're suffocating them?" Itachi questioned. Izaki scraped furiously at a loose chip in the wood. Her head was spinning and the new questions were doing nothing to help her cause.

"Look, I don't know, okay? Mizuki is drunk nearly six nights out of seven and Deidara's father is crazy. Sasori is stuck in a world where everyone views him as different and turns him into an outcast. I'm just stuck in the middle of it and trying to make the best of it. Is that so hard to understand?" she snapped back. Izaki's eyes turned red with anger; an anger she'd kept hidden away for so long. It was always the needs of others that came before her needs. Itachi rested his elbows on the railing and stared into the darkening night.

"That's okay, but, Izaki, what do you want?" The question had haunted her for so long. The truth she'd tried to deny and hide from for what seemed to be years. A lump caught in her throat and her eyes threatened to spill over with tears. She didn't know what she wanted and yet…deep inside…she did. Nobody had ever asked her what she wanted.

"All I want…is to find somewhere I belong and to find someone…who loves me as I am…for at least a long time…" The words seemed to be spoken by someone other than her. Izaki felt the words sounded childish—like she was demanding more than anyone could ever give her.

"Izaki…I…" Izaki turned away from Itachi. She couldn't meet his level twin onyx adorned irises.

"I've got to go." Blinded by tears and sorrow she ran off full speed into the seemingly deserted road. What she didn't see was the car headlights swerving around the corner and coming right at her at an insane fifty miles per hour. The last thing she saw were two lights descending on her before everything went black.

- - - - - - - - -

"You…what…yeah…?" stammered Deidara. Sasori stood abruptly, his long maroon bangs shadowing his eyes from view. His tone was emotionless when he spoke next.

"I've got to go, Deidara, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. We're better off just friends anyways. It wouldn't work any other way." With those words he fled.

"Sasori! Sasori!" called the blonde helplessly after him. It occurred to him to follow the red-head. Quickly he sprang up and ran after him. The front door clicked shut which he quickly ran down the stairs. Hurriedly he flung open the door and headed into the slowly cooling night. The door slammed shut behind him. Soon he was running at a full sprint after the soft footsteps that seemed to be miles ahead of him.

Deidara seemed to follow the footsteps for what seemed like forever. It was only when he reached the park, a block before Sasori's neighborhood taking the long way to Sasori's house, did he finally see him. It was only when he saw the flashing ambulance headlights and the wailing of police sirens that told him something was horribly wrong. He spotted Sasori ducking under the police tape to head over to Itachi who was sitting on the edge of the ambulance bumper. Deidara followed suit and was upon the two in seconds.

"What happened, yeah?" he demanded worriedly. Itachi slowly looked up at them with haunted ebony eyes.

"It was…Izaki…" he murmured softly. Deidara brushed his blonde hair out of his normal eye to see Itachi clearer. Sasori gazed down at the teen through wide emerald orbs.

"What about Izaki?" Deidara and Sasori knew the answer to that would never be the happiest news ever.

"She…she and I were talking…and then I asked her something…and she freaked out. Izaki…took off running…" Itachi swallowed hard and continued in a hoarse whisper that chilled the two teens to the bone. "And…she didn't see…the car coming at her… It was a bunch of drunks…driving… Izaki was hit…" Itachi didn't even have to finish the sentence to know that Deidara and Sasori got what he meant.

"Who was driving the car, yeah?" Deidara's voice sounded foreign to his own ears even. Itachi stared down at his hands. The next words he spoke threw Deidara and Sasori into a world where everything he'd just said felt like an unreal dream.

"Mizuki was in the passenger seat. And five other drunken kids were in the back. Her sister was…passenger seat driving…because the guy in the front was passed out… She…was drunk too… They say…" Itachi broke off to take a deep shuddering breath. "They say it was Mizuki's fault Izaki was hit."

- - - - - - - - -

Late in the evening Deidara was almost asleep with Sasori's head resting on his shoulder. Sasori had long since been claimed by slumber. Itachi had been taken away by medics to have his shock helped as well as have him questioned by police officers to find out what he knew about the accident. As for the kids in the car they'd all been taken down to the police station for an alcohol test to figure out about how much they'd taken. The kids in the car were fifteen and sixteen with the exception of the driver being eighteen.

Now, Deidara and Sasori were in the waiting room of the hospital to find out how Izaki was doing. Neither seemed to have any intention of going to school the next day. At last, the twin off-white colored doors swung open with a low click and a doctor wearing a white lab coat and the traditional sea foam colored pants and shirt with black shoes strode into the plain waiting room. Immediately Deidara sat up straighter in his uncomfortable plastic chair. He almost banged his head on one of the corny paintings above the chair which was poorly placed. Sasori reacted to the sudden movement by groggily waking up and rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep in them.

"What's the news, yeah?" he immediately asked. The doctor's expression was grim and sorrowful.

"According to police reports, all the kids in the car were stoned out of their minds. Mizuki was lucky to not have passed out as well while driving the vehicle. There is the fact she was underage and, unfortunately, had been underage drinking without parental knowledge. The bits we need are locked away in Izaki's mind," the doctor began slowly. Deidara paled slightly. The worst was yet to come, though.

"What else, yeah?"

"She's suffered severe trauma. Izaki will be more emotional than ever and her fear of cars will last for…an unknown amount of time. The worst part of it all is…" the doctor paused to take a deep breath. "Parts of her memory are fragmented and so she has a distorted mind. She'll have temporary memory loss for a seven day period. And she has a broken arm, a shattered ankle, three broken ribs, a dislocated knee, and two broken fingers…" Deidara inhaled sharply and Sasori gasped.

"Can we see her, yeah?"

"…I'm sorry; we need to keep her here for a bit without any visitors. In the meantime, you can figure out how things are going at her home and break the news to her family."

"Fun, yeah…" Deidara scooped up Sasori in his arms. Sasori protested sleepily against it but the blonde ignored him and turned to leave. "Thanks, yeah…I guess."


	10. Chapter 10

Mizuki Mukura had always been a troubled girl. Her parents always paid the most attention to her sister Izaki. Her sister was like living proof perfection existed. She got top grades, had a gorgeous face and figure, could easily do public speaking without hesitation, was acquainted quite a few good friends, had a good job, and was everything Mizuki wasn't. Mizuki was a C student with failing grades that just kept going farther and farther down. She was golden-blonde with sparkling emerald eyes and pale skin with normal lips. She wasn't very tall and didn't really have any figure at all. Mizuki didn't even have very many friends either. All her acquaintances were people who she met while drunk.

In all honesty, Mizuki always wanted to be her sister or at least share the spotlight with her. Izaki was praised left and right by her family while Mizuki was always the topic of 'needs improvement' or 'severely troubled'. The only reason she was the way she was, as she believed, was because she lived in the shadow of her sister and everyone expected her to be the way Izaki was. Her parents never seemed to care about her or anything she did either.

As a result to all the pressure and depression she'd turned to alcohol and drugs to save her before she did anything more drastic. What Mizuki never knew was that Izaki wasn't the perfect social butterfly everyone thought she was cracked up to be. No, the elder Mukura was far from that. She'd struggled and fought with herself and those around her to break into the person she wanted to be and believed she should be. Izaki had always had a hard time making herself everything her parents wanted while still being who she wanted to be. But Izaki was never all-smiles.

She was never perfect. But Mizuki didn't know that. She just saw the wonderful person everyone saw Izaki Mukura as. And that was what made her so ashamed of everything she was and hate everything about her being. Behind the laughter in the mornings and the chatter Mizuki was heartbroken.

What she didn't know, though, was that she wasn't just hurting herself with her alcoholic addiction. Mizuki hurt her entire family. She'd begun underage drinking. She didn't think anyone cared. She'd hurt Izaki because her sister believed she wasn't doing the right thing for her sister and making her unhappy. The last straw that completely burned her, the Mukura family, Izaki, Deidara, Sasori, and Itachi was the fact she'd driven a car, drunk, and hit her sister.

Now, as she sat on a cold bench in the police station awaiting the officer to come and question her about the night's events, she couldn't even bear the thought of having to listen to the damage she'd done to her sister physically and emotionally as well as her entire family. Mizuki buried her face in her hands and cried—hard.

She cried for all the times she'd resorted to drinking to sort out her life or to just forget all the pain. Mizuki cried for everything she'd ever done to hurt her sister. She cried for everything she'd done to hurt her family as well and those around her.

It was then she came to realize the amount of people she was really hurting. But most of all, she was hurting herself.

- - - - - - - - -

Mr. and Mrs. Mukura were seated with several of Izaki's aunts, uncles, grandfathers, and grandmothers in a grand sitting room. Mrs. Mukura was wringing a tissue looking extremely distraught. Deidara and Sasori had gone straight over with the news as soon as they'd left the hospital. Originally the blonde had wanted to drop Sasori off at his house but the red-head wanted to be there to tell Izaki's family what'd happened. Despite the late hour, almost all the residents of the house were there.

"She's got severe trauma, yeah. And she's going to be afraid of cars too, yeah, as well as extremely emotional. She's lost pieces of her memory for seven days, or a week, yeah… The physical damage was a broken arm, a shattered ankle, three broken ribs, a dislocated knee, and two broken fingers, yeah," Deidara reported. Silence enveloped the group for what seemed like an eternity. At last Mr. Mukura spoke.

"Thank you for bringing us this news, Deidara. I know our daughter is very fond of having you around and would be grateful that it is you who is sharing this information with us instead of some doctor," he said. Deidara nodded politely in thanks for his kind words.

"Izaki…is a wonderful girl. She's just been hurt so much. I'm glad she has you two to lean on in times of need. And she can be beautiful if she scrapes away the grime that's collected after the years of her life she suffered the most. Anyways, also, who was driving the car?" Mrs. Mukura added to her husband's words. Deidara swallowed hard. He didn't want to have to say this. Sasori, who was holding his hand secretly, gave his hand a squeeze and nodded to him. Deidara knew it was going to be Sasori who told them the news they didn't especially want to hear. The blonde nodded to him in recognition of what had just passed between them.

"The driver of the car was passed out from major alcohol intake. There were five drunken kids in the backseat. In the passenger seat was…your other daughter Mizuki… She was driving for the kid who was passed out. But she was drunk as well and couldn't see the pedals," Sasori admitted in a strong voice. Deidara gazed down at his knees and waited for the onslaught of astonishment.

"Mizuki…was driving the car…and she hit Izaki…?" gasped out Mrs. Mukura. She clutched her heart and fainted into her husband's arms.

"Mizuki did this?!" he thundered. Several murmurs broke out among the elders.

"Absurd!"

"Absolutely appalling!"

"An outrage I tell you!"

"How could she have done that?!"

"_Enough_!" It was Sasori who'd spoken out so bravely. "What happened, well, happened… Only Mizuki can answer what happened and why everything occurred the way it did. She probably had strong reasons to do something so…dramatic…" Again it went quiet.

"Of course…" admitted Mr. Mukura softly. "You can go if you would like." Without another word the two teens stood and left, both imagining a long night of sleep and not going to school the next day.

- - - - - - - - -

Izaki was…asleep, I guess you could say, for around five days. During those five days life went on. Deidara, Sasori, and Itachi went to school, constantly avoiding prying students who wanted to know the details of the accident. Mizuki was brutally yelled at by her parents, Izaki underwent major surgery on her knee. At last, on the sixth day, Izaki woke up. But nobody was allowed to visit her at all till her memory came back. The last day seemed to drag by at an incredibly slow rate.

Finally the door to her hospital room clicked open. She held her breath, waiting for the nurse to tell her that someone wanted to see her or to, most likely; just remind her it was time to take her painkillers.

"Izaki? You've got visitors," a nurse spoke through the crack in the door.

"Alright." The door opened wider and Deidara along with Sasori slipped into the room.

"Fifteen minutes, Izaki, then you've got to rest." Izaki nodded slightly and the door shut once more. Deidara and Sasori were sitting in the chairs by her bed.

"Hey, yeah," the blonde greeted her with a vague smile.

"Hi, Izaki," Sasori added. She smiled faintly at them.

"Hello," she said quietly. Her voice was soft and barely audible.

"Is everything okay with your voice, yeah?" asked Deidara when he realized how softly Izaki was talking. The girl stared down at her hands resting on top of the blanket in front of her, the pale color clear against the olive green color. Looking closely, the two could see her hands were shaking. Her eyes were shaded from view from the curtain stray locks of her ebony hair covered. In the faint light filtering through the small window above the bed, on the right side of her face, they could see the slight blue tint to her eyes.

"No. The doctor said that the impact and the way I fell could've severely hurt something. I won't ever be able to talk the same again…nor will I be able to sing the way I did before or do a lot of the things I could do with my voice before," Izaki admitted quietly. Singing was her life passion. Her whole future had mostly revolved around her becoming a singer. Now, though, due to the accident she'd suffered…everything was changing in a second. Broken, but beautifully and artistically. If this was the way it would be taken from her, then so be it. It was like her sister's way of saying she hated Izaki for being everything she had to live up to and more.

"Wow, Izaki, yeah…" Sasori stared down at his hands in his lap.

"What'll you do now?" he asked quietly. Izaki looked up and the two could plainly see the anguish in her ocean blue eyes. Her hands remained motionless yet in her lap. She gazed at them for a moment before staring at the door.

"I don't know, Sasori. I just don't. I might take voice lessons again but the doctor told me my vocal cords may not be able to take the strain of it anymore. I can still draw…I can still be an artist…" her voice was choked and full of years of sorrow. A single shimmering teardrop fell and shattered on the bedcovers.

"I'm sorry, yeah," Deidara said quietly. Izaki glanced at him for a second before staring down at her hands.

"What for?"

"For everything we've ever done to make you feel like you need to be the one there, yeah."

"Deidara, I've never felt that way."

"Itachi told us you feel like the one who always needs to be the one to protect and defend us, yeah." Izaki had no reply to that. Instead her hands started to shake as more tears fell.

"What's left for me in this world, Deidara?" Her voice was low and haunted.

"Us, yeah, Itachi as well. Your family—"

"They make me feel like I have to be perfect all the time."

"Okay, yeah, well…there's…" Deidara stumbled for words.

"Exactly my point." Sasori's expression turned worried.

"What point, Izaki?" She shrugged.

"Nothing, Sasori." Then the nurse came in and told Sasori and Deidara to kindly leave so Izaki could take her medication.


	11. Chapter 11

Five months passed since the accident. Izaki had decided to not press charges. Things proceeded as regularly as they could possibly go. Sasori and Deidara came to terms with their feelings and started going out. Itachi matured a lot more and his parents came to realize he wasn't going back to his old ways. Mizuki started to get better. And Izaki… changed. Izaki had avoided Sasori and Deidara for three months of those five months to recuperate and figure out her life again. Now, as the snow fell during a very cold December, she could be seen clearly silhouetted against the snowy trees. Her long ebony hair swung by her pale face in its uneven style. Her violet eyes were vacant from the life they used to have.

Izaki was still perfect academically. She was completely together on the outside. Everyone thought she was wonderful and back to the person who she'd used to be. It was never the case with her. Inwardly Izaki was shattered beyond repair and nothing seemed to be right to her anymore. Often she found herself sitting in her windowsill with snow falling next to her face as she cried.

She cried for everything she'd lost. She cried for the life she used to have. Izaki knew tears were useless but they never seemed to stop. It was that one day in December things finally went the way she wanted them to. Both wrong and right.

- - - - - - - - -

December twelfth. Izaki was in her senior year at Konoha High. She was seventeen years old going on eighteen that May. It started off as a regular day—walking with Deidara and Sasori to school and talking with Itachi whenever she had a spare moment at school. Then things turned upside-down when she was sitting in Mr. Hatake's class.

A gunshot resounded off of the halls. Someone screamed and another shot was fired. The screaming ceased. The silver-haired man snapped his book shut and gazed up at his students.

"Everyone, don't panic. Get under your desks and don't make a sound," he ordered the class. It was the first time in a long time he'd spoken seriously to the class. Silently they obeyed. Their teacher went over and turned off the lights. Then he locked the door and went back to the desk in front of the room. Silence fell for what seemed like an eternity. In the distance they could hear more gunshots and screams. Then someone called to another person and the knocking started.

When the door didn't open, the two people started to try and break down the door. One said something that the students didn't hear. Then the door unlocked. Everyone held their breath and stayed frozen in place. The thin slice of light fell on Mr. Hatake who was casually lounging against his desk with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you want?" he asked casually. The students snorted with laughter.

"To end this stupid crap we have to go through every day," one snapped back. The voice was male.

"Yeah," echoed the second, a female. Izaki glanced up at the two. She couldn't see faces, only vague outlines. The door creaked open wider to cast more light onto the two shooters. Mr. Hatake seemed to stay silent for a moment before speaking.

"I didn't know you had such issues, Aidan and Mizuki." Izaki's blood turned to ice.

- - - - - - - - -

Mizuki had long since made up her mind. Ever since the night of the accident she'd been 'getting help'. She lied to her parents she was going to alcohol addicts meetings to get better and her boyfriend, rebel Aidan Xan, helped her forge letters to her parents that Mizuki was doing well and on the way to getting much better. In reality, the two had been planning ways to get back at others for making them suffer through their lives and making things so miserable for them.

The first idea they'd come up with was going into school with guns and shooting people. Then they planned to go back to Mizuki's house and kill her family. If they didn't get caught.

In the morning Mizuki feigned being cheery and happy. Secretly she slipped the gun Aidan gave her into her backpack and left for school on her own. At school she'd met up with him during class in a deserted, and hardly used, hallway. They'd started in the main hallway and branched off into a side hall of classrooms.

Mizuki had never felt so alive. The thrill of killing was more than she could've ever imagined. Without a word between the two they, most likely, killed eight students, injured countless, and then headed down to Mr. Hatake's classroom. Mizuki had an unsettled score.

- - - - - - - - -

Deidara was hiding closest to the door with Sasori. Both were desperately trying to avoid getting seen. When they'd heard Mr. Hatake's last words they'd immediately known that they could be potential targets. As the blonde gazed across the room to where Izaki was huddled under her desk he knew deep inside of him Izaki could only blame herself for this.

- - - - - - - - -

Izaki watched carefully as the two made their way farther to Mr. Hatake's desk. She caught Deidara's eye and nodded slightly to him. Her plan was to run to the gym where there was an emergency exit with Deidara and Sasori following her. The shooters were almost upon Mr. Hatake. She took a slow and soft breath. The trio knew it was time.

She launched herself out from under the desk and took off running. There were two pairs of footsteps behind her. Gunshots shattered off of walls around her. Deidara was running next to her with Sasori right next to him. The three were some of the best runners in Konoha High. She heard shouts and yells behind her as one of the shooters pursued them.

Several gunshots rang out in the classroom they'd just left before Izaki knew, with a sinking heart, both shooters were after them. Left, right, left… The hallways seemed to mock them with their endless twists and turns. She could see the gym door coming up fast. Her feet pounded the ground and her lungs burned with the need for proper air. They were almost there…

- - - - - - - - -

Aidan Xan had always been a rebel—always wanted to be different. A bad-boy kind of different. When he'd met Mizuki that seemed just like what he was going to get. His parents were the over-protective type that was completely blown away by the sudden change in their 'perfect' son.

Only Mizuki wasn't exactly all he thought her to be. He'd thought her to be a typical smoker punk skateboarder bad-girl. Instead Aidan realized Mizuki was a morbid, hateful, alcoholic who resented her family with every part of her being. The ideas she'd suggested to him he just went along with to perfect his 'image'.

With Mizuki Mukura it was all about revenge no matter the cost. She did most of the killing while Aidan watched in silent horror. This wasn't what he wanted. He only wanted to be a typical bad-boy. He'd bitten off way more than he could chew. And there was no going back now. Aidan needed to stop her. Before more students got fatally hurt.

- - - - - - - - -

Deidara, Sasori, and Izaki had finally reached the emergency exit doors. All three were panting hard. They pushed as hard as they could against the door. Then they heard the footsteps slowing as the shooters reached the gym where the three were.

"Push harder, yeah," hissed Deidara.

"I'm trying," muttered Izaki with another huge shove to the door. They almost had it open when Sasori cried out in shock and pain. Deidara let go of the door to kneel down next to the red-head. There was a deep crimson stain blossoming out near his shoulder.

"Sasori!" cried Deidara. The boy on the floor screamed with each throb of pain. The screams were something Izaki would never forget—ever. Then she heard a gun being aimed.

"So long, and good night," a voice laughed.

"Deidara!" Izaki, without thinking, threw herself in the path of the bullet.

- - - - - - - - -

Mizuki's finger tensed on the trigger. This was it. She pushed harder on the trigger and… Someone knocked into her from the side and her finger pulled the trigger. The gunshot exploded, resounding off of all the walls in the gym. The bullets aim was off. There was no way to tell where it was going to go now. Gazing up she saw Aidan with his gun pointing at her.

"Mizuki, why'd you do it?" he whispered hoarsely. Mizuki couldn't meet his eyes. She didn't have a reason. Every reason she had seemed to vanish into nothingness when she needed them most. None of them seemed to be the right answer.

"I…I…don't know…"

- - - - - - - - -

The shot seemed to tear right through her. Pain ignited every nerve in her body and a scream seemed to rip from her throat. She collapsed to the floor, her head hitting the cold wood floorboards. The bullet was lodged somewhere in her left side. Blood spilled to the floor and over her stomach. Her vision turned blurry and her mind seemed to slow. Her sister's words echoed in her mind over and over like some bad horror film. _So long and good night_…

She smiled to herself faintly. So this was it. This was how it ended. So be it, then. She deserved it. Every bit of pain coursing through her veins, every drop of blood that fell from her limp body, and every single second she spent dying there.

"Izaki…Izaki…no…" Then, everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

Deidara sat curled up in a fetal position in one of the plastic hospital chairs in the waiting room of the hospital. All the students who weren't injured from Konoha High had been sent home as soon as the police arrived with numerous ambulances. A teacher had followed them into the gym and immediately had Izaki out of there before she could suffer anymore damage. Deidara had picked up Sasori and walked out with the screaming red-head. Everything seemed to have gone completely out of focus.

Sasori's screams were non-existent to his ears. The police rushing by him seemed to be moving in slow motion. The yells of paramedics seemed like the breeze whispering through the trees. He'd brought Sasori to an ambulance for treatment. The wail of the sirens had seemed like they had lost their voice. Parents were held back by police and news crews were restrained by the mass amount of concerned adults.

Now, as he sat there, his head seemed to finally come back to rest on his shoulders. The hospital doors swung open again as the doctor came out of them with his head low. He made his way over to Deidara.

"I understand you're acquainted with Izaki Mukura, Itachi Uchiha, and Sasori Akasuna," he said softly.

"Yeah…" His voice sounded strained and full of unspoken pain.

"Sasori's going to be okay. We just needed to perform surgery to get the bullet out of his shoulder. It's bandaged right now. Itachi suffered a bullet to his thigh. He'll be okay. We managed to extract the bullet through surgery and now he just needs to recover…" The doctor paused.

"What about Izaki, yeah?"

"She needed a lot of stitches. The bullet went right through her side. She lost a lot of blood. She's on life support right now to ensure she lives." Deidara nodded slowly.

"Can I see her, yeah?"

"Alright…Itachi and Sasori are there with her…" The doctor led him down a hallway to a room marked '12-A'. Silently he pushed the door open and Deidara walked past him into a bland hospital room. Izaki lay unmoving on a hospital bed with her eyes half closed. Her heart monitor beeped slowly but steadily with the beating of her heart. Itachi sat on a chair next to her bed with his leg up and crutches leaning against the arm of his chair. Sasori sat on her opposite side with his arm in a sling. Izaki looked paler than usual and her eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle.

"Izaki, yeah?" he said softly. The girl stared at him for a second.

"Deidara," she replied. Her voice was hoarse. The door shut with a click behind the doctor as he left. Deidara sat down on an unoccupied chair on Izaki's left next to Sasori.

"How are you, yeah?" Izaki refused to look at any of them.

"I'm sorry, I never wanted any of you here when I made this decision…" she admitted in a choked voice. The blonde stared at her.

"What, yeah?" Sasori stared at Izaki and Itachi just gazed at the floor.

"I didn't want you here for this."

"Wait—what??" Sasori exclaimed in a hushed tone. Izaki's eyes were a dull purple as her lips moved slowly.

"Do you remember when I asked what I have left to live for?" she inquired.

"Of course, yeah," Deidara said. "But what about it, yeah?" A tear slid down her cheek and left a streak down her face.

"I was never there for my sister. I caused her so much pain by being the one who was always perfect and setting standards she could never follow. I never was the friend you deserved, Deidara and Sasori. I feel like I could've done so much more. And Itachi…I'm sorry…it maybe could've worked, but that will be an unanswered question for now and forever. I'm so sorry. Tell my parents I love them. I know you know I love you all with all my heart…till my dying day," Izaki whispered softly. Her voice was strained and full of pain. Deidara stared at her through a wide blue eye. Sasori gaped at her and Itachi's expression remained impassive.

"Izaki, what are you—??" Sasori sputtered. Izaki shook her head sadly.

"There is nothing left for me anymore." With those words she swiftly reached over and disconnected herself from the life support machines. The three were too stunned to react to her movements in time. A loud beeping erupted in the room as Izaki took one last shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry…so sorry…"

- - - - - - - - -

It was exactly a week after the death of Izaki Mukura. December nineteenth. Deidara was walking through a snowfall to Sasori's house. Both wanted to be alone together to just remember all that used to be when Izaki was alive. She'd committed suicide on accord to being unable to continue living with the things that she had done in her life. The wrong overcame the right.

Many things were clear. Izaki had been hurting—possibly more than her sister even—and she'd never, ever, been perfect like everyone saw her. At last she'd found peace, despite the fact it was in death. Deidara reached Sasori's front door and knocked. Surprisingly, it swung open on its own. Scared, Deidara raced up the stairs to Sasori's room. The door was shut tightly. With huge effort the blonde managed to shove the door open. Everything was dark.

"Sasori, yeah?" he called tentatively. He saw someone sitting on the bed. It was Sasori, silhouetted against the darkness.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Deidara. I love you so much. But when Izaki died…something in me…died with her…" Sasori was holding something. Deidara's breath caught in his throat.

"Sasori, no, don't leave me…I can't walk this world alone, yeah…I just can't…" begged Deidara. The red-head smiled softly.

"Then let's meet back together, in heaven…"

"With Izaki, yeah…"

"Yeah." Sasori lifted the thing in his hand. It was a gun. "Heaven would be hell without you, Deidara. I love you. So much. I can't walk this world anymore."

"Sasori…Sasori…I love you too…" whispered Deidara. Despite the fact they both knew they'd meet once again, they were crying. The tears were for the weight of the loss they felt and the pain that still resided.

"Farewell." The red-head put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The sound was something Deidara would never forget. Yet he knew Sasori was at peace with his decision. Blood trickled from the fatal wound. Carefully he caught the Sasori and wrapped one arm around his waist protectively. He pried the gun out of his limp hand and held it to his head.

"We're all going to die, yeah, but artfully shattered." He pulled the trigger.

- - - - - - - - -

Alone. That's how it felt up in heaven for Izaki. Her eyes stared into nothing. Then she heard voices—two very familiar voices… Could it be…? She jumped up and ran as fast as she could to the noise. She saw blonde and maroon hair. It was Deidara…and Sasori.

"Deidara!" she called. "Sasori!" The pair looked up to her and met her with open arms. It was an awkward hug but it was a hug all the same.

"Izaki…" whispered Deidara softly. His lone eye was closed and Sasori was sandwiched between them. Izaki pulled back to smile softly at the two with the vibrant violet eyes Deidara and Sasori had come to know.

"Even heaven is hell without you."

_**END**_

**With so much love to my supporters, reviewers, and friends!! I can't believe I finished it! Forty-two pages, typed, font size twelve, Times New Roman font. Started…late August…and finished September twentieth two-thousand seven. My first long term fanfiction story. The length includes the disclaimer, title, and type of fanfiction story this was. And with this little note too. I'm so happy with how I finished this. I'm very proud of this story. Major thanks to my reviewers and friends—it finished because you gave me positive to keep on writing and writing! I guess the same goes for my supporters. Heh… Anyways, I'm glad you all liked this. Major thanks to my conscience for making me do some serious re-writes on parts of this, without that the story would've turned out just plain…different.**

**This is everything I wanted and more with a high school Naruto fic. Sasori and Deidara and Itachi were some of the main characters from the original anime used. Yay… What I really love about this was it was my first SasoDei fic, despite the lightness of it all. And I'm proud of the emotions portrayed so strongly. Overall, I think this turned out nicely. Reviews make me happy but reading it without reviewing is…okay…I guess… ;**


	13. Epilogue

**Dear me…I felt like something wasn't right… So many unanswered questions I could barely sleep at night. So, I finally caved in to an epilogue. I don't normally do these things but I've been plagued both day and night with things I never finished up in the story. In the words my teacher would use, it ended pretty abruptly. Questions unanswered were things like what happened to Itachi, what happened to their parents, why was Sasori's house deserted, how did their guardians react to their deaths, how did Mizuki and Aidan fare after the shooting, what became of their guardians after their deaths, did anyone they knew see it coming, did Kisame ever have anymore part in this, did a ItaKisa really happen after the death of Izaki, and so many more questions I want to scream. Without further ado I present the epilogue of 'Artfully Shattered'.**

Itachi stared blankly out of the window in his room. So this was it. Konoha High School had to be closed for two weeks after the incident. A week and a half had already passed. The dead, wounded, dying, and survivors were all accounted for. Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame were three of the people who he really knew that survived the incident.

The only problem was this. Sasuke had been wounded to a point where he had to be kept at the hospital for several months to come. His parents finally turned to their youngest and left the eldest to fend for his own. Several times he'd had Kisame over to just be with him. Never before had Itachi felt this type of pain from anything in his life. Izaki had committed suicide. She'd taken her own life.

That was what she wanted. Somewhere she belonged—heaven; someone who truly cared about her—God. The peace she'd found was never to be named nor categorized by anyone. It was just the way some people dealt with their inner wars and pain. So that was how it ended for her.

Absently he leaned his head on the window frame. It'd been a long time since he'd heard from the Mukura's or seen Deidara come home. Come to think of it, it'd been several days since the blonde had walked back home from going out. Maybe he'd finally left his father… No, that wasn't it. He would've taken at least a bag with him. So what was wrong?

A knock sounded downstairs. With a grunt he grabbed his crutches and heaved himself up. The person knocked again, more insistently this time. He made his way slowly down the stairs till he finally came to the front door. Supporting himself on his good leg and crutch he opened the door. On his doorstep stood Kisame who was breathing hard as if he'd run many miles.

"Have you heard?" he asked softly. Itachi furrowed his brow.

"Heard what, Kisame?" he answered with confusion heavy in his voice. "And come inside, you're letting all the heat out." It was a chilly December day. To be precisely exact it was December twenty-third. The teen relented and entered the house, shutting the door after him. He leaned against the door and stared at the elder Uchiha.

"Well, I heard coming through town that Grandmother Chiyo, Sasori's guardian, was in town for a moment to get some things when she came home to her front door wide open. She went upstairs to Sasori's room and found him…dead. Deidara was with him too. They were both dead with a gun lying on the floor in front of them," Kisame explained quietly. Itachi let out a low whistle.

"So…what happened to them?" Kisame gave him a flat stare.

"Isn't it obvious to you? They committed suicide just like Izaki. A journal under Sasori's bed found by Chiyo read that when Izaki died, he felt like a part of him died with her. She was like his sister and now she was dead. Her death impacted him a lot and shook him hard. He'd originally said that he wanted Deidara over to remember her. But in the end, they both killed themselves instead," Kisame responded in a low voice. Itachi stared numbly at the floor. Deidara, Sasori, and Izaki were all dead. They were dead because they couldn't live with what they'd done—with what each other had done…

"What became of Mizuki?" he asked softly.

"Juvenile Delinquent place…"

"And the same happened with Aidan?"

"Yeah…" Itachi took a deep breath.

"Are they having a funeral?"

"For all three they're going to have one funeral on the twenty-fifth," Kisame answered. Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly.

"They're having a funeral on Christmas day?" he said. Kisame shrugged helplessly.

"I guess so." Itachi sighed deeply as he stared off into space. Death had taken Izaki, Deidara, and Sasori. Hate had taken over Mizuki. Meager desires had dominated Aidan who turned out to not be as bad as he thought he was yet still suffered the same fate as Mizuki. And now tragedy became of everything. But at least…he still had Kisame till the end of time till something came between them.

"How did Deidara's father react to that?"

"He's dead, Itachi." The teen looked up to his boyfriend.

"What?"

"Deidara's father was drunk driving and crashed. It was an accident yet it still happened."

"So…Deidara died alone?"

"Not alone, he had Sasori."

"In the end, they didn't calculate the aftermath of it all, did they…?" Itachi mused. Kisame stared at him long and hard.

"I don't know, but at least we know they're at peace." Itachi bit his lip thoughtfully.

"I'd think Deidara would say something like: We're all going to die, yeah, but it's those who chose to make our deaths artistic that die artfully shattered, yeah."

"Or something around those lines, at least."

**Yay, stupidly short epilogue that sucks! Whoot! I know … I used this to answer the unanswered. I hope you liked it because I don't like it. o **


End file.
